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COLLECTIONS 


MINNESOTA 


HISTORICAL   SOCIETY 


VOLUME  IX. 


ST.  PAUL,  MINN. 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  SOCIETY. 

Apbil,  1901. 


Pioneer  Press  Company, 
Printers,  Binders  and  Electrotypers, 

ST.  PAUL,  MINN. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  SOCIETY. 

Hon.  Alexander  Ramsey,  -           -           -      President 

Col.  William  P.  Clough,   -  -           -     Vice-President 

Gen.  John  B.  Sanborn,  -           Second  Vice-President 

Henry  P.  Upham,      -  Treasurer. 

Warren  Upham,    -           -  -   ■   Secretary  and  Librarian. 

David  L.  Kingsbury  and  Josiah  B.  Chaney, 

Assistant  Librarians. 

COMMITTEE  ON  PUBLICATIONS. 

Nathaniel  P.  Langford.       Rev.  Edward  C.  Mitchell. 
Gen.  James  H.  Baker.  Josiah  B.  Chaney. 

COMMITTEE  ON  OBITUARIES. 

Hon.  John  D.  Ludden.       Hon.  Henry  L.  Moss. 
Hon.  Charles  E.  Plandrau.    Gen.  James  H.  Baker. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Society  is  ex  officio  a  member  of  these  Committees. 


CONTENTS. 


hlstoey  of  transportation  in  minnesota,  by  gen.  james  h. 

Baker 1-34 

Aboriginal  transportation  and  traffic 2 

Period  of  French  exploration 4 

Later  traffic  of  the  Minnesota  valley 6 

Laie  Superior  and  the  fur  trade 7 

Transportation  by  canals 14 

Steamboating  on  the  Mississippi  and  Minnesota  rivers 16 

Our  wagon  roads  and  stage  lines 18 

The  Red  River  ox  cart  trade 20 

Winter  travel  by  dog  trains 21 

Present  transportation  on  Lake  Superior 21 

The  advent  of  railways 23 

Summary  review 33 

How  we  Won  the  San  Juan  Archipelago,  by  Gen.  Edwin  C. 

Mason 35-54 

The  Ojibways  in  Minnesota,  by  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Gilfillan.  . .  55-128 

Their  geographic  distribution 55 

The  Ojibway's  love  of  his  native  place 56 

Personal  appearance 57 

Inf requence  of  insanity 59 

Changes  during  the  past  twenty- five  years 60 

Home  life  in  the  wigwam 62 

Conversation  with  visitors  and  among  themselves 63 

Affection  for  their  children 64 

The  drum  and  chants ^ 

Sleeping  in  the  wigwam 67 

Endurance  of  cold 69 

Succession  of  occupations  during  the  year 70 

Frequent  scarcity  of  food  in  winter 72 

Habit  of  going  in  debt 73 


VI  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Chiefs  and  orators 74 

The  Ojibways  of  Red  lake 76 

The  Ojibways  of  Cass  and  Leech  lakes 78 

Heartiness  in  eating,  and  fish  the  staple  food. 80 

0  jib  way  gambling;  feasts  and  councils;  his  ideal 81 

Industry  of  the  women;  their  servile  position- 83 

Marriage,  and  abandoning  wife  and  children 84 

Babyhood  and  childhood 86 

Mechanical  ingenuity  and  skill 88 

Intellectual  traits;  comparison  with  the  white  race 89 

Murder  rare,  except  when  due  to  intoxication 92 

Natural  politeness  and  patience 93 

The  Christian  Ojibway 94 

Treatment  of  the  aged 96 

Tobacco  smoking  and  chewing , 97 

Mortality  of  children 97 

Aversion  to  bathing;  houses  of  one  room 98 

Hunting  and  killing  game ,. .  99 

Neglect  of  domestic  animals 101 

Great  endurance  in  walking 103 

Longevity;   recollections  by  old  men 105 

Habits  in  work;  logging,  river  driving,  gardening 107 

Salutations— Asiatic  origin  108 

Visiting;   deliberateness  in  thinking  and  speaking 108 

Ojibway  girls  and  women  in  housework 109 

Advice  to  travelers  in  the  Ojibway  country Ill 

Ojibway  personal  names HI 

Regard  to  promises 112 

Expectation  of  gifts 113 

Lack  of  sympathy;  sense  of  humor 113 

Heathen  dances  and  their  influence 114 

United  States  government  agents  and  schools 117 

Treaties  with  the  Ojibways 120 

Payment  of  annuities;  gambling  and  drinking 121 

Gathering  wild  rice;   indolence  of  the  men 123 

Rations  from  the  government 125 

Rate  of  mortality;  mixed-bloods  increasing 125 

Destructiveness  of  intemperance 126 

--The  Ojibway  language 127 

\/  Civilization  and  Christianization  of  the  Ojibways  in  Minne- 
sota, by  the  Right  Reverend  Henry  B.  Whipple,  D.  D., 
LL.  D.,  Bishop  of  Minnesota 129-143 


CONTENTS.  Vii 

Page. 
Biogkaphic  Notes  of  Old  Settlers,  by  Hon.  Henry  L.  Moss.  .143-162 

Henry  Jackson ^44 

Jacob  W.  Bass 143 

William  H.  Forbes 4 147 

James  M.  Boal 143 

Dr.  John  J.  Dewey 149 

William  R.  Marshall 149 

David   Olmsted. I50 

Morton  S.  Wilkinson 150 

Jeremiah   Russell 151 

Sylvanus  Trask 151 

Joseph  W.  Furber 151 

James  S.  Norris 152 

Lorenzo  A.  Babeoek 152 

Gideon  H.  Pond 153 

David  B.  Loomis 153 

Parsons  K.  Johnson 154 

Benjamin  W.  Branson 154 

Henry  N.  Setzer 155 

Mahlon   Black 155 

Miss  Harriet  E.  Bishop 157 

Other  old  settlers  still  living 160 

Early  Trade  and  Traders  in  St.  Paul,  by  Charles  D. 
Elfelt 163-166 

The  Early  Political  History  of  Minnesota,  by  Hon. 
Charles  D.  Gilfillan 1^7-180 

Beginnings  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Minnesota,  and  the 
Early  Missions  of  Park  Place,  St.  Paul,  by  Bishop  M.  N. 
Gilbert .181-196     \/* 

Reminiscences  of  Minnesota  During  the  Territorial  Period, 

by  Hon.  Charles  E.  Flandrau 197-222 

Peculiar  early  immigrants 197 

Celebration  of  New  Year's  Day 199 

Early  social  conditions 201 

Pioneer  missionaries 204 

Territorial  politics 209 

A  political  episode 210 

Significance  of  geographic  names 212 

Descriptive  names  given  by  the  Sioux 215 

The  Sioux  maiden  feast 218 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Origin  of  the  name  Itasca 219 

Old  names  passing  away 221 

Indian  medicine  men 221 

i     Hennepin  as  Discoverer  and  Author^  by  Samuel  M.  Davis.  .  .223-240 

Earlier  discovery  to  the  time  of  La  Salle 223 

Hennepin's  captivity  and  discoveries  in  Minnesota 225 

The  life  and  character  of  Hennepin 234 

History  of  Duluth,  and  op  St.  Louis  County,  to  the  Year 

1870,  by  Hon.  John  R.  Carey 241-278 

Daniel  Greyselon  Du.  Lhut ,    241 

Fond  du  Lac 243 

Treaties  with  the  Ojibways 244 

Counties  of  northeastern  Minnesota 244 

Road  from  the  St.  Croix  valley  to  Lake  Superior 245 

Early  missionaries. , , 246 

The  first  election 248 

Members  of  the  legislature 250 

Duluth  and  other  towns  platted  and  incorporated 253 

Biographic  sketches  of  pioneers 257 

The  first  boom,  followed  by  depression  in  1857 260 

.First  saw  and  grist  mills 262 

""taarly  sailing  vessels  on  Lake  Superior 263 

First  railroads , 266 

First  postoffiees  and  mails 267 

Decreased  cold  of  recent  winters 270 

Volunteers  from  St  Lonis  county  in  the  civil  war 271 

The  town  of  Buchanan  and  the  land  ofilce 272 

First  sermons  and  churches 273 

School  districts  and  schools , 274 

Location  of  the  county  seat 276 

Beginnings  in  this  county  and  the  city  of  Duluth 277 

The  Early  Settlement  and  History  of  Redwood  County,  by 
Hon.  Orlando  B.  Turrell .279-290 

History  of  Lumbering  in  the  St.  Croix  Valley,  with  Bio- 
graphic Sketches,  by  Wdlliam  H.  0.  Folsom .291-324 

Beginning  of  settlements,  steamboating,  and  lumbering 298 

Establishment  of  the  interstate  boundary 295 

Pioneer  lumbering  on  government  lands 296 

Forest  fires  and  decrease  of  rainfall 297 

The  village  of  Marine 297 

Osceola,  Wisconsin .    . . . . 299 


CONTENTS.  IX 

Page. 

The  old  St.  Croix  county 299 

The  city  of  Stillwater 301 

Lakeland,  Afton  and  Point  Douglas 305 

Prescott,  Wisconsin 306 

District  of  the  Apple  and  Willow  rivers 306 

Mills  on  the  C,  St.  P.,  M.  and  O.  railway. 309 

Pine,  Carlton  and  Kanabec  counties. 310 

Duluth  and  the  St  Louis  river.- 312 

Clam  river  and  Burnett  county,  Wisconsin 313 

Taylor's  Falls  and  vicinity ♦ 314 

Areola,  Washington  county 316 

The  Nevers  dam 316 

Log  booms  and  rafts 317 

Lumber  manufacturing  farther  south  in  Minnesota 318 

Summary  and  statistics 321-324 

Amount  of  logs  cut  from  1837  to  1898 321 

Recapitulation  of  logs  and  sawn  lumber 322 

Cost  of  labor  in  lumbering,  1837  to  1898 323 

Losses  by  fires 323 

Histoey  of  Pioneer  Lumbering  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  and 
Its  Tributaries,  With  Biographic  Sketches,  by  Daniel 
Stancheield    325-362 

Pergonal   narration 325-350 

Arrival  in  Minnesota , 326 

Exploration  of  the  pineries  on  the  Rum  river 329 

Loss  of  the  first  log  drive 333 

First  logging  near  the  Crow  Wing  river 335 

Exploration  of  the  upper  streams  and  lakes 338 

Growth  of  the  town  of  St.  Anthony 339 

Outfits  for  lumbering  repaid  by  logs 341 

Relation  of  lumbering  to  agricultural  settlement 344 

Incidents  during  exploration  and  logging 344 

Changes  in  this  industry  since  fifty  years  ago 346 

Lumbermen  of   St.   Anthony   and   Minneapolis  prior  to 

1860 347 

Early  lumber  manufacturing  above  Minneapolis 350 

Biographic  sketches 353-361 

Franklin  Steele 354 

Caleb  D.  Dorr 355 

Sumner  W.  Farnham 356 

John  Martin 357 

Dorilus  Morrison 358 

John  S.  Pillsbury 359 

Statistics 361 


X  CONTENTS. 

Page. 
Recollections  of  the  City  and  People  of  St.  Paul,  1843-1898, 

by  August  L.  Larpenteur. . 363-394 

Kindred  and  migration  to  St.  Paxil 364 

Population  and  trade  in  1843 368 

7  Marriage,  and  our  pioneer  store  and  home .  371 

Hostilities  between  the  Ojibways  and  Saoux 374 

The  Jackson  hotel,  with  an  anecdote 375 

First  surveys  and  land  claims . : 378 

Organization  and  growth  of  Minnesota  territory 379 

H    Experiences  of  the  early  traders . 379 

Relatives  come  to  St.  Paul. 383 

Treaties  with  the  Sioux 384 

"     Trade  with  the  far  Northwest 385 

Game,  and  its  decrease 386 

" fc  Steamboat  travel,  freighting,  and  adventures 386 

Vindication  and  eulogy  of  the  pioneers 390 

Captivity  Among  the  Sioux,  August  18  to  September  26,  1862, 

by  Mrs.  N.  D.  White 395-426 

Fight,  ambush,  and  massacre 397 

Captives  taken  to  Little  Crow's  village 402 

On  the  march  westward 409 

Camp  Release , 418 

Return  through  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  to  Wisconsin 422 

\/     \  Narration  of  a  Friendly  Sioux,  by  Snana,  the  Rescuer  of 

-^  Mary   Schwandt 427-430  t 


1/ 


The  Sioux  Outbreak  in  the  Year  1862,  with  Notes  of  Mis- 
sionary Work  Among  the  Sioux,  by  Rev.  Moses  N.  Adams  ...  431-452 

Causes  of  the  outbreak 432 

Little  Crow,  conspirator  and  leader 434 

The  massacre 435 

Events  of  the  following  twelve  days 438 

Reconnoissance  and  burial  of  the  dead 442 

Battle  of  Birch  Coulie 444 

Summary  of  losses  by  the  massacre  and  war 446 

Aid  by  friendly  Dakotas 446     ', 

Christian  missions  and  their  results. 449  ^ 

The  Louisiana  Purchase  and  Preceding  Spanish  Intrigues 
for  Dismemberment  of  the  Union,  by  Nathaniel  Pitt  Lang- 
ford  453-508 

Foresight  of  Washington 455 


CONTENTS.  Xi 

Dissatisfaction  of  western  settlers 45$ 

Prophecies  of  Navarro. ... , 457 

Gen.  Wilkinson's  intrigues 460 

Spanish  Inquisition 463 

State  of  Frankland 465 

Invasion  of  Louisiana  threatened 470 

Treaty  of  Madrid 471 

Treaty  of  St  Ildephonso. 472 

Claim  of  our  government 474 

Talleyrand's  diplomacy 475 

Tedious  delay , 476 

Right  of  deposit  prohibited * 478 

Monroe  appointed  minister  extraordinary 480 

Bonaparte's  proposition 482 

Louisiana  Purchase  treaty  signed 483 

Texas  included  in  the  Louisiana  Purchase 485 

Views  of  Congressmen 490 

Letters  of  Jefferson , 493 

Opinion  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall 495 

Anglo-American  alliance 496 

Fears  of  eastern  statesmen 498 

Mode  of  denning  western  boundary 500 

Discovery  of  the  Columbia  by  Captain  Gray 500 

Attitude  of  Jefferson 501 

Lewis  and  Clark  expedition 502 

Astor  expedition 503 

Florida  treaty 504 

Final  settlement  of  boundary 506 

Some  Legacies  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  by  Hon.  James  Oscae 

Pierce 509-518 

Nationality    500 

The  dual  system  of  government 516 

Freedom 517 

Religious  liberty  and  popular  education 518 

The  Dual  Origin  of  Minnesota,  by  Samuel  M.  Davis. 519-548 

Cession  of  the  Northwest  Territory 519 

The  Ordinance  of  1787 524 

The  Louisiana  Purchase 527 

Territorial  governments 541 

Admission  of  Minnesota  to  the  Union 546 


XU  CONTENTS. 

Page. 
Celebration  of  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  op  the  Organiza- 
tion of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  in  the  Hall  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  Wednes- 
day, November  15, 1899 549-636 

Afternoon  Session 551-596 

Invocation,  by  Rev.  Robert  Forbes 551 

Greeting,  by  Hon.  John  Lind,  Governor  of  Minnesota. . .        553 
Response,  by  the  President,  Hon.  Alexander  Ramsey.  . .        555 
Organization  and  Growth  of  the  Minnesota  Histori- 
cal Society,  by  Gen.  William  G.  1m  Due 559-568 

The  Library,  Museum,  and  Portrait  Collection  of  the 
Minnesota  Historical  Society,  by  Nathaniel  Pitt 

Dangford   569-575 

The  library 570 

The  museum 572 

Portraits 573 

Increase  of  these  collections 573 

Retrospection 574 

Recollections  of  Persons  and  Svents  in  the  History 

of  Minnesota,  by  Bishop  Henry  B.  Whipple 576-586 

Progress  of  Minnesota  During  the  Half  Century,  by 

Hon.  Charles  E*  Flandrau 587-596 

Auld  Lang  Syne 596 

Evening  Session 597-636 

Opening  Address,  by  Hon.  John  S.  Pillsbury 597-601 

Education  in  the  United  States  and  in  Minnesota 
during  the  Past  Fifty  Years,  by  Cyrus  Northrop, 

President  of  the  State  University 602-616 

The  common  schools 602 

Academies , .         603 

Colleges 604 

Development  of  our  educational  system 605 

Normal  schools 609 

Instruction  in  sciences 610-614 

Physics  (by  Prof.  Frederick  S.  Jones) 610 

Botany  (by  Prof.  Conway  MacMillan) 612 

Summary  and  statistics  of  educational  progress 614 

Donations  this  year  for  public  education 615 

Progress  of  the  United  States  during  the  Half  Cen- 
tury, by  Hon.  Cushman  K.  Davis,  United  States  Sen- 
ator  617-622 

Note  by  the  Secretary. 622 

Minnesota  in  the  National  Congress  During  These 
Fifty  Years,  by  Gen.  John  B.  Sanborn 623-626 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

Page. 

The  Work  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society 
through  Fifty  Years  in  Preserving  Minnesota  His- 
tory, and  its  Duty  to  the  Future,  by  Col.  William 
P.  Clough .627-686 

America 636 

Obituaries 637-080 

JQlias  Franklin  Drake 637-653 

Henry  Mower  Rice 654-658 

Charles  Edwin  Mayo .659-664 

Russeil  Blakeley 665-670 

Other  Deceased  Members  of  This  Society,  1898-1901 671-680 

Franklin  G-.  Adams 671 

Levi  Atwood 671 

William  M.  Bushnell 671 

Alexander  H.  Cathcart 671 

Robert  Clarke 672 

Elliott   Cones 672 

Charles  P.  Daly 672 

William  Dawson 673 

Samuel  S.  Eaton 673 

William  H.  Egle 073 

Charles  D.  Elfelt 674 

Mahlon  N.  Gilbert. 674 

William  Wirt  Henry 675 

Charles  J.  Hoadly 675 

John  R.  Jones 675 

William  H.  Kelley 676 

Patrick  H.  Kelly 676 

John  Jay  Lane . . , .  677 

Edward  Gay  Mason 677 

Frank  Blackwell  Mayer 677 

Delos  A.  Monfort 677 

Amos  Perry. 678 

John  Thomas  Scharf ,  678 

Isaac  Staples 678 

George  C.  Stone 679 

William  S,  Stryker 679 

George  W.  Sweet 679 

Charles  L.  Willis 680 

John  C.  Wise. , 680 

Index - 681-694 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

Plate   I.    Map  of  the  San  Juan  Archipelago. . .  35 

II.    Portrait  of  Hon.  Henry  L.  Moss. 143 

III.  Portrait  of  Hon.  Charles  D.  Gilfillan 167 

IV.  Portrait  of  Hon.  John  R.  Carey 241 

IVa.  First  frame  house  in  Duluth,  built  by  Robert  E,  Jef- 
ferson   257 

V.    Portrait  of  William  H.  C.  Folsom 291 

VI.   Portrait  of  Daniel  Stanehfield. 325 

VII.    Portrait  of  Franklin  Steele 327 

VIII.    Portrait  of  Caleb  D.  Dorr 333 

IX.    Portrait  of  Sumner  W.  Farnham 341 

X.    Portrait  of  Capt.  John  Martin 357 

XI.    Portrait  of  Hon.  Dorilus  Morrison 358 

XII.    Portrait  of  Hon.  John  S.  Pillsbury 359 

XIII.  Portrait  of  August  L.  Larpenteur 363 

XIV.  Portraits  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  N,  D.  White. . 395 

XV.    Portrait  of  Snana. . 427 

XVI.    Portrait  of  Nathaoiel  P.  kangford 453 

XVII.  Map  showing  the  territorial    growth   of   the    United 

States 485 

XVIII.    Portrait  of  Hon.  Alexander  Ramsey. 549 

XIX.    Portrait  of  Gen.  William  G.  De  Due. . 559 

XX.    Portrait  of  Hon.  Mias  Franklin  Drake 637 

XXI.    Portrait  of  Hon.  Henry  Mower  Rice 654 

XXII.    Portrait  of  Charles  Edwin  Mayo 659 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.* 


BY  GENERAL  JAMES  H.  BAKER. 


Our  present  systems  of  transportation  are  the  outgrowth  of 
a  method  and  order  of  evolution,  not  as  slow  as  the  Darwinian, 
but  steadfast  in  the  principles  which  have  governed  their  de- 
velopment. From  the  carrier  in  the  Soudan,  with  his  load 
upon  his  back,  or  the  Indian  in  his  birch  bark  canoe,  down  to 
the  modern  splendidly  equipped  railway,  or  the  superb  ocean 
steamer,  it  has  been  a  continuous  development,  and  one  that 
has  caused  and  marked  the  progressive  steps  of  man  in  trade 
and  commerce,  being,  in  itself,  the  highest  mark  of  the  best 
civilization.  Safe  and  rapid  transportation  is  the  fruitful 
mother  of  material  wealth.  There  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  its 
growth,  and  we  wonder  what  next  will  quicken  the  movement 
of  peoples  and  of  products.  In  peace,  or  in  war,  safe  and  rapid 
transit  has  been  the  synonym  of  power.  That  upon  China,  a 
vast  empire,  but  without  the  means  of  rapid  or  reasonable 
transportation,  the  very  curtain  of  history  should  drop  as 
blankly  as  if  it  belonged  to  some  other  planet,  is  perfectly  ap- 
parent; while  England,  but  a  little  island,  by  means  of  every 
modern  system  of  transportation,  has  carried  her  arms,  her 
commerce,  and  her  power,  into  all  the  regions  of  the  globe, 
gathering  wealth  in  her  movements  as  a  universal  carrier. 

Rapid  transportation  sets  in  motion  mighty  tides  of  immi- 
gration, and  is  the  spur  to  all  commerce.  It  tunnels  the 
mountains,  it  bridges  the  valleys,  it  deepens  the  rivers,  it  opens 
the  wilderness,  and  builds  new  empires.  It  opened  the  Suez 
canal  as  a  new  gateway  to  the  opulent  East,  and  will  yet  cut 


♦An  Address  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Jan.  10,  1898. 


2  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

its  way  through  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  bringing  the  two 
great  western  oceans  together.  It  brings  the  most  distant  na- 
tions into  familiar  intercourse,  and  banishes  the  spectre  of 
famine  by  the  even  and  speedy  distribution  of  every  human 
necessity. 

The  annual  export  and  import  trade  of  the  world  has  been 
estimated  at  $4,250,000,000,  a  sum  so  vast  as  to  be  practically 
incalculable;  but  it  all  turns  upon  the  single  pivot  of  trans- 
portation. Think  of  its  currents  and  counter-currents,  like 
millions  of  mighty  shuttles,  weaving  the  stately  web  of  the 
world's  trade  and  wealth!  All  lands  and  all  seas  are  now 
open  to  the  wondrous  modern  facilities  of  transportation,  and 
if  we  can  forefend  the  cataclysm  of  universal  war,  where  will 
it  all  end?  These  gigantic  movements  call  for  merchants  and 
statesmen,  clothed  with  the  highest  faculties,  to  meet  the 
weighty  problems  which  this  volume  of  trade,  with  its  intri- 
cacies and  complexities,  is  pressing  for  consideration  over  the 
whole  sphere  of  the  earth. 

To  trace  the  history  of  our  own  transportation  in  the  domain 
of  Minnesota  is  to  mark,  step  by  step,  our  growth  and  develop- 
ment, from  savagery,  to  our  present  stature  among  the  great 
powers  of  the  world.  From  the  "drag"  of  two  poles  tied  to  the 
pony  of  a  Sioux  Indian,  to  a  modern  steam  engine,  or  from  the 
birch  bark  canoe  to  a  "whaleback,"  or  steel  steamer  on  lake 
Superior,  is  the  very  measure  of  our  growth  in  power  and 
civilization. 

ABORIGINAL     TRANSPORTATION  AND  TRAFFIC. 

The  North  American  Indians,  as  found  by  Columbus,  were 
the  earliest  historic  people  who  vexed  our  rivers  and  lakes 
with  the  paddle  of  the  canoe.  The  Dakota  nation  and  related 
tribes  occupied  the  Missouri  and  upper  Mississippi  basins, 
while  the  Ojibways  possessed  our  lake  region,  at  the  time  of 
the  advent  of  the  French.  Learning  and  research  have  not  yet 
been  able  to  unravel  the  mystery  of  the  origin  of  the  Indian 
race  of  North  America.  With  their  primitive  modes  of  trans- 
portation, however,  we  are  all  familiar. 

Preceding  these,  in  the  order  of  time,  were  the  Mound  Build- 
ers, a  prehistoric  race,  who  conducted  traffic  on  our  rivers  and 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  3 

lakes  more  than  a  thousand  years  ago,  as  proven  by  the  fact 
that  two  forests  of  timber  have  grown  over  the  tumuli,  near  the 
Mississippi  river,  each  forest  requiring  five  hundred  years  to 
complete  its  growth  and  decay.  In  these  groups  of  mounds  we 
find  virgin  copper,  that  must  have  come  from  mines  in  the  re- 
gion of  lake  Superior,  which  establishes  the  fact  of  that  early 
traffic  across  our  state.  It  is  now  fully  substantiated,  that 
they  penetrated  as  far  north  as  Itasca  lake,  and  were  on  every 
branch  of  the  Mississippi  in  its  upper  basin,  and  had  even 
pushed  their  way  across  the  continental  divide  into  Canadian 
territory.  It  is  also  in  evidence  that  the  very  portages  used 
by  our  historic  Indians  were  used  by  the  Mound  Builders,  and 
that  these  shortest  and  most  eligible  routes  between  our  water 
ways  were  discovered  and  occupied  for  centuries,  and  long 
prior  to  their  occupation  by  our  present  Indian  tribes. 

Who  these  people  were,  we  know  not;  but  that  they  were 
here  is  incontestable,  and  that  they  had  modes  of  transporta- 
tion is  beyond  doubt.  Our  aboriginal  historic  Indians,  of  whom 
we  have  some  knowledge  for  about  four  hundred  years,  have 
even  no  legendary  information  concerning  the  people  who  built 
the  mounds,  nor  have  they  themselves  ever  been  mound  build- 
ers. Our  first  transportation  was  conducted,  therefore,  by 
that  prehistoric  people. 

But  if  we  desire  to  be  really  curious  and  learnedly  inquisi- 
tive, we  can  go  back  of  all  these.  There  are  on  deposit,  in  the 
vaults  of  this  society,  prehistoric  clipped  flints  found  at  Little 
Falls,  Minnesota,  which  date  back  probably  five  thousand 
years,  according  to  the  opinion  of  Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam,  the 
curator  of  the  Peabody  Museum.  These  implements,  found 
by  Miss  Frances  E.  Babbitt,  were  under  sand  and  gravel,  which 
formed  the  flood  plain  of  the  Mississippi  river  in  the  closing 
stage  of  the  Griacial  period.  They  bring  us  face  to  face  with 
Griacial  man,  existing  upon  the  southern  boundary  of  the  great 
ice  sheet  which  once  enveloped  the  Northwest.  Did  these  peo- 
ple possess  the  means  of  transportation  of  their  persons  and 
property?  and  if  so,  what?  Without  pursuing  this  inquiry, 
we  know  enough  to  be  fully  assured  that  a  thousand  years 
before  the  keel  of  Columbus  plowed  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic 
in  quest  of  a  new  world,  transportation  was  in  active  operation 


4  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

on  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  Minnesota,  by  the  strange  and  name- 
less people  who  left  us  the  tumuli  scattered  over  our  state  as 
the  indubitable  evidence  of  their  occupancy  and  activity. 

PERIOD  OF  FRENCH  EXPLORATION. 

Following  the  North  American  Indians,  if  we  look  for  the 
first  white  men  who  navigated  our  waters,  we  find  them  in 
Peter  Esprit  Radisson  and  his  brother-in-law,  Sieur  d^s  Gro- 
seilliers.  In  their  "fourth  voyage"  these  intrepid  Frenchmen 
visited  the  southwest  portion  of  lake  Superior,  fourteen  years 
before  Joliet  and  Marquette  explored  the  lower  part  of  the 
Mississippi  river.  Radisson  and  his  companion  discovered  the 
upper  Mississippi  in  1659.  They  coasted  along  the  south  shore 
of  lake  Superior,  probably  to  the  bay,  Chequamegon,  meaning 
a  "long  point  of  land,"  near  Ashland,  in  Wisconsin.  The  In- 
dian name  of  the  bay  was  Sha-ga-wa-ma-kon.  They  probably 
passed  to  a  point  between  Kettle  and  Snake  rivers,  not  far 
from  Hinckley,  Minnesota,  thence  to  Mille  Lacs  and  thence  to 
discovery  and  crossing  of  the  Mississippi  river,  at  an  unknown 
and  unascertainable  point,  probably  between  the  mouth  of 
Sauk  river  and  the  mouth  of  Rum  river.  They  were  the  first 
white  men  who  visited  the  country  now  embraced  in  our  state 
and  paddled  the  first  canoe  through  our  waters.  They  came, 
as  they  themselves  state,  "in  search  of  fur-bearing  countries." 
It  was  commerce  and  trade,  therefore,  which  opened  this  re- 
gion to  the  knowledge  of  the  world. 

I  am  well  aware  that  I  stood  in  this  very  place  January  24, 
1879,  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  being  in  the  chair,  and  delivered 
the  annual  address,  then  as  now,  of  this  society.  My  topic  be- 
ing "Lake  Superior,"  I  then  said:  "Religion  was  the  grand 
inspiring  motive  which  first  gave  lake  Superior  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  our  era."  The  publication  of  Radisson's  "Voyages," 
by  the  Prince  Society  in  1885,  constrains  me  to  note,  in  con- 
trast with  the  missionary  labors  of  Marquette  and  others,  that 
the  earliest  Frenchmen  to  explore  the  west  part  of  lake  Supe- 
rior, to  enter  the  area  of  Minnesota,  and  to  see  the  Mississippi 
river,  were  led  here  for  traffic  and  commercial  gain. 

There  is  no  sufficient  reason,  in  my  judgment,  even  to  at- 
tempt the  impeachment  of  Radisson's  quaintly  told  story.     It 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  5 

sheds  light  upon  the  first  navigation  of  our  waters  in  the  very 
twilight  of  our  history.  It  comes  to  us  like  a  voice  from  the 
dead  past,  out  of  the  Bodleian  Library  and  British  Museum.  I 
am  the  more  confirmed  in  my  views  as  to  the  integrity  of  the 
Radisson  annals  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  late  Alfred  J. 
Hill,  long  an  honored  member  of  this  society,  and  Hon.  J.  V. 
Brower,  the  most  careful  and  laborious  archeological  scholars 
this  state  has  yet  produced,  both  fully  agree,  after  a  careful 
consideration  of  all  the  facts  for  a  period  of  four  years,  that 
Radisson's  story  is  true,  and,  in  their  judgment,  ought  not  to  be 
further  questioned. 

Next  in  the  order  of  time  came  the  Jesuit  Fathers.  In  1665, 
on  the  shore  of  Chequamegon  bay,  Allouez  established  the 
Mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  four  years  later  was  succeeded 
in  the  same  mission  by  Marquette.  The  Jesuits  found  upon 
the  shores  of  this  inland  sea,  many  warlike  tribes,  but  chief 
among  these  were  the  Chippewas,  who  filled  almost  the  entire 
basin  of  Superior.  The  French  early  formed  an  alliance  with 
these  Indians,  and  the  attachment  has  continued  to  this  day. 
Their  nomenclature  was  given  to  many  places  by  the  Jesuit 
Fathers;  and  it  is  a  debatable  question  whether  Minnesota 
did  not  receive  its  name  from  Chippewa,  rather  than  Sioux 
sources. 

A  most  noteworthy  French  adventurer  came  into  this  coun- 
try as  early  as  1683,  named  Le  Sueur,  who,  twelve  years  after- 
ward built  a  fort,  or  trading  post,  on  the  Mississippi  a  few 
miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix.  He  came  from  Mon- 
treal, through  the  northern  lakes,  following  the  line  of  trade 
then  establishing  itself  within  the  area  that  is  now  Minne- 
sota. Le  Sueur  returned  to  France,  and  received  from  the 
Grand  Monarch  a  license  to  open  certain  mines  on  the  St.  Peter 
river.  The  whole  story  of  this  mineral  search  is  shrouded  in 
romance  and  mystery.  Instead  of  entering  the  country  by  the 
old  route,  he  went  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and 
then,  organizing  his  expedition,  which  consisted  of  twenty-five 
men,  mostly  miners,  he  equipped  a  felucca,  and  in  April,  1700, 
started  upon  a  journey  as  visionary  as  Jason's  in  search  of 
the  Golden  Fleece.  After  some  time  he  increased  his  means  of 
transportation  by  the  addition  of  two  canoes,  and  with  these 


6  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

little  boats  lie  bravely  stemmed  the  current  of  the  great  river 
a  distance  of  more  than  2,300  miles.  His  felucca  was  the  first 
boat  with  sails  which  ever  ascended  the  Mississippi.  Near 
the  confluence  of  the  Blue  Earth  river  with  the  Minnesota,  he 
seems  to  have  found  the  object  of  his  search.  Here  they  spent 
the  winter  of  1700.  When  the  last  detachment  of  Le  Sueur's 
party  left  the  next  year,  they  cached  their  tools  in  that  vicin- 
ity, and  I  have  often  endeavored  to  find  the  spot,  but  without 
success.  Le  Sueur  failed  in  the  object  of  his  expedition,  to 
discover  and  open  valuable  mines,  as  did  De  Soto  in  his  pursuit 
of  gold,  and  Ponce  de  Leon  in  quest  of  the  fountain  of  eternal 
youth;  but  he  opened  up  our  rivers  to  transportation,  and  car- 
ried back  to  France  4,000  pounds  of  supposed  copper  ore,  being 
the  first  boat  load  of  freight,  a  native  product,  carried  by  a 
white  man  on  the  Minnesota  river. 

LATER  TRAFFIC  OF  THE  MINNESOTA  VALLEY. 

While  speaking  of  the  Minnesota  river,  it  is  as  well  to  com- 
plete such  reference  to  its  early  navigation  as  is  deemed  im- 
portant. After  Le  Sueur,  it  was  sixty-six  years  before  we  hear 
of  another  white  man  ascending  the  old  St.  Peter's  river.  Ten 
years  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  a  medical  stu- 
dent from  Connecticut,  who  had  become  a  captain  in  the  colo- 
nial French  war,  Jonathan  Carver,  turned  his  canoe  into  the 
waters  of  the  St.  Peter's  river,  to  the  vicinity  of  the  site  of  New 
Ulm,  where  he  spent  the  next  winter  with  friendly  Dakotas. 
Carver  was  confident  that,  if  he  could  have  continued  his  trav- 
els, he  would  find  some  river  flowing  westerly  and  leading  to 
the  Pacific  ocean. 

In  the  year  1800,  we  find  trading  posts  established  in  the 
St.  Peter's  valley  by  the  Northwest  Company  of  Montreal. 
The  first  one  was  located  at  Lac  Travers,  the  next  at  Lac  qui 
Parle,  and  the  third  at  Traverse  des  Sioux.  These  forts  were 
erected  by  that  wonderful  race  of  men  called  coureurs  des  hois, 
who  came  in  by  way  of  the  Eed  river,  This  was  the  establish- 
ment of  an  early  and  fixed  trade  on  that  river.  After  these 
came  Lieut.  Zebulon  M.  Pike,  in  1805.  He  was  an  officer  of  the 
United  States  army,  and  came  to  require  obedience  to  United 
States  laws  by  certain  British  traders  who  still  hoisted  the 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  7 

British  flag  over  their  trading  posts  in  violation  of  the  treaty 
of  1783.  He  found  these  trading  posts,  up  the  St  Peter's  river, 
and  others  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  in  full  opera- 
tion. In  1823,  Major  Stephen  H.  Long,  of  the  United  States 
topographical  engineers,  ascended  the  St.  Peter's  river.  A  little 
later,  our  army  officers  found  some  remarkable  men  in  charge 
of  the  growing  trade  of  the  St.  Peter's  valley.  At  Lac  Trav- 
el's was  Joseph  R.  Brown;  at  Lac  qui  Parle,  Joseph  Renville; 
at  Traverse  des  Sioux,  Louis  Provencalle;  and  at  Little  Rapids, 
Jean  B.  Faribault.  These  men  were  identified  with  every  move- 
ment of  trade  in  that  era.  The  trade  was  carried  on  by  pack- 
ers, dog  trains,  and  canoes.  The  earliest  of  these  trading  posts 
was  transferred  from  the  Northwest  Company  to  John  Jacob 
Astor,  in  1811;  Astor  transferred  them,  in  1834,  to  the  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company,  of  which  Ramsay  Crooks  was  president; 
and  they  were  finally  transferred,  in  1842,  to  Pierre  Chouteau, 
Jr.,  and  Company,  of  St.  Louis.  H.  H.  Sibley  became,  in  1834, 
a  partner  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  the  same  year  he 
established  his  headquarters  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peter's 
river. 

Thus  were  trade  and  commerce  firmly  established  in  the 
valley  of  the  St.  Peter's  river.  This  was  the  first  era  of  trade 
of  white  men  in  that  region.  The  next  era  was  the  advent  of 
steamboats  on  that  river  in  1850,  to  be  followed  by  the  rail- 
ways in  1867. 

LAKE  SUPERIOR  AND  THE  PUR  TRADE. 

We  must  always  remember  that  Minnesota  was  discovered 
by  the  way  of  lake  Superior;  that  our  earliest  traders,  voy- 
ageurs  and  missionaries,  all  came  to  us  by  way  of  the  great 
lakes.  Commerce  and  transportation  began  from  that  direc- 
tion; and  our  Indian  coadjutors  there  were  Chippewas,  not 
Sioux.  We  recount  with  pride  our  early  settlements  and  trade 
at  Fort  Snelling,  Mendota,  and  St.  Paul ;  but  long  before  these 
there  were  bold  and  daring  men  on  our  northeastern  frontier, 
leading  a  strange  life,  and  abounding  in  commercial  activity. 
It  is  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  years  since  Charles  II 
ceased  toying  with  his  mistresses  long  enough  to  sign  a  royal 
license  to  a  company  of  traders,  known  as  the  "Honourable 
Company  of  Merchants-Adventurers  trading  into  Hudson's 


8  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS, 

Bay."  The  splendor  of  the  precious  metals  of  Mexico  and 
Peru  had  hitherto  dazzled  the  eyes  of  Europe.  But  royalty 
and  beauty  were  now  wrapping  themselves  in  costly  furs.  So 
Prince  Rupert  went  to  his  royal  cousin  one  day  and  asked  and 
received  the  sole  privilege  of  trade  and  commerce  in  all  this 
vast  region,  larger  than  Europe,  extending  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,  and  from  our  great  lakes  to  Hudson  bay.  For 
this  grand  monopoly  he  was  to  pay  annually  to  his  royal  mas- 
ter, the  king,  two  elk  and  two  black  beaver  skins.  The  royal 
grant  so  made  still  remains  and  covers  more  than  three  million 
square  miles.  By  the  intervention  of  the  crown,  the  new  Do- 
minion of  Canada  has  secured  Manitoba,  British  Columbia 
and  Vancouver's  Island,  from  the  grasp  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
company;  but  the  vast  area  north  of  these,  to  the  Arctic  seas, 
still  belongs  to  the  old  monopoly.  Under  this  charter,  granted 
in  1670,  this  great  company  received  not  only  the  absolute 
rights  of  trade,  but  the  privilege  to  build  castles  and  forts,  to 
carry  on  war,  and  to  make  peace,  with  any  non-Christian  peo- 
ple. With  wonderful  energy,  the  company  raised  and  palisad- 
ed posts  along  the  remote  inlets  of  Hudson  bay,  extending 
their  operations  as  far  south  as  our  own  territory,  and  thus 
built  up  a  colonial  trade  in  furs.  And  when  the  French  came 
into  possession  of  Quebec,  the  company  boldly  pushed  their 
fortunes  to  the  west  and  established  themselves  along  our  own 
confines. 

As  a  competitor  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  there  was 
organized,  in  the  winter  of  1783,  the  Northwest  Company  of 
Montreal.  These  companies  became  bitter  rivals  and  contest- 
ed the  barbaric  field  with  obstinate  pertinacity.  Their  feuds 
only  ceased  after  the  Earl  of  Selkirk,  in  the  years  1811  to  1817, 
founded  the  Red  River  Settlement.  The  rival  companies  con- 
solidated in  1821,  the  Northwest  Company  being  merged  in  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company.  Long  years  before  the  adventurous 
foot  of  the  white  man  had  pressed  the  soil  where  St.  Paul  now 
stands,  and  while  St.  Anthony's  Falls  was  jet  a  myth  in  the 
wilderness,  the  bold  voyageurs  of  these  aggressive  companies . 
had  found  their  way  to  the  west  end  of  lake  Superior;  had 
thence  threaded  the  intricate  communications  which  lead  by 
lakes,  streams  and  portages  to  Lake  Winnipeg  and  the  Sas- 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  9 

katchewan;  and  had  penetrated  even  to  lake  Athabasca  and 
Great  Slave  lake. 

Fort  William,  built  in  1801  to  1804,  on  the  Kaministiquia 
river,  was  the  chief  western  fort  of  the  Northwest  Company. 
Another  important  fort,  of  earlier  date,  was  on  our  own  soil, 
at  the  southern  terminus  of  the  Grand  Portage.  The  first  im- 
portant road,  lying  partly  in  our  state,  was  the  one  built  be- 
tween these  two  forts,  the  bridges  being  made  of  cedar  logs, 
the  remains  of  some  of  which  I  myself  have  seen.  The  road 
was  thirty-six  miles  long,  and  was  built  in  the  earliest  years 
of  this  century. 

The  locality  called  Grand  Portage,  at  the  site  of  the  old 
trading  post  and  fort,  on  the  south  end  of  the  portage  of  this 
name,  is  on  a  small  crescent-shaped  bay,  which  has  an  island 
at  its  entrance,  146  miles  from  Duluth.  There  is  still  a  band 
of  Chippewa  Indians  located  there.  I  have  read,  at  Fort  Wil- 
liam, in  a  journal  of  one  of  the  employees  of  the  Northwest 
Company,  a  very  minute  and  detailed  account,  in  a  rude  diary, 
of  the  scenes  of  enterprise  and  traffic  which  he  saw  at  Grand 
Portage  in  the  summer  of  1800.  It  appears  that  at  that  time 
there  stood  in  the  center  of  the  semicircular  shore  of  this 
bay  a  large  fort,  well  picketed,  enclosing  several  acres  of 
ground.  I  have  camped  upon  the  spot  several  days,  and  found 
the  place  most  eligibly  situated  for  the  purposes  intended. 
Here,  the  diary  says,  was  a  house  for  officers  and  men,  and  a 
building  for  storage  and  stores.  There  was  a  canoe  yard  con- 
taining one  hundred  canoes  of  all  sizes.  Seventy  canoes  were 
contracted  for  annually  for  the  commerce  of  that  place.  His 
diary  notes  that  on  July  3d,  1800,  thirty-five  great  canoes  ar- 
rived from  Mackinaw,  each  carrying  from  three  to  five  tons  of 
goods,  with  eight  voyageurs  to  a  canoe.  Over  seventy  canoes 
had  already  arrived  from  the  west,  coming  from  Lake  Winni- 
peg through  Eainy  river,  from  the  Saskatchewan,  and  from 
the  Athabasca  and  Great  Slave  lakes.  These  were  laden 
with  furs  and  pelts.  The  thirty-five  great  canoes,  from  Mon- 
treal, 1,800  miles  away,  were  laden  with  a  year's  supply  of 
goods,  food,  liquors,  tea,  etc.  Grand  Portage  was  at  that  time, 
and  as  early  at  least  as  1767,  the  grand  exchange  and  distribut- 
ing center  for  the  fur  trade  in  that  part  of  the  world.  The 
factors  themselves  were  present  for  the  great  annual  settle- 


10  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

ment  of  business.  The  diary  goes  on  to  relate  that  several 
hundred  white  men  were  there  assembled,  and  that  over  seven 
hundred  Indian  women  were  retained  by  the  company  to 
scrape  and  clean  the  skins,  and  to  make  up  the  packages  of 
pelts.  The  writer  describes  the  scene  as  having  all  the  air  of 
a  busy  city. 

On  that  night  of  the  3rd  of  July,  1800,  according  to  the 
diary,  the  factors  gave  a  "great  ball."  The  large  dining  room, 
with  its  puncheon  floor  sixty  feet  long,  was  cleared,  and  in- 
spiring music  was  furnished  by  the  bagpipe,  violin,  and  flute. 
Thirty-six  gallons  of  rum  were  issued  by  the  factors,  which 
made  the  night  hilarious.  There  was  a  plenty  of  women,  too, 
and  "beautiful  half-breeds"  who  danced  well.  One  Indian 
woman  got  drunk  and  killed  her  husband. 

These  scenes  at  Grand  Portage  took  place  twenty  years  be- 
fore the  corner  stone  of  Fort  Snelling  was  laid,  and  thirty- 
eight  years  before  the  first  white  man  claimed  land  in  the 
vicinity  of  St.  Paul.  Here  was  a  busy  town,  a  mart  of  ex- 
change and  trade,  with  a  commerce  extending  to  Montreal, 
1,800  miles  east,  and  to  Great  Slave  lake,  2,000  miles  northwest. 
Transportation  must  have  been  vigorously  conducted  for  the 
vast  distances  covered.  Count  Andriani,  an  Italian,  was  at 
Grand  Portage  in  1791,  and  its  activities  were  the  same.  Sure- 
ly trade  and  commerce  in  Minnesota,  and  pretty  good  trans- 
portation, too,  did  not  begin  with  the  men  of  this  generation. 

A  romantic  interest  attaches  to  some  of  these  bold  and  dar- 
ing early  voyageurs  and  traders,  brave  Scotchmen,  whose  for- 
tunes were  lost  in  the  memorable  battle  of  Culloden,  in  1746, 
and  who  fled  to  British  America.  Their  blood  gave  vigor  and 
force  to  the  affairs  of  the  traders.  In  the  veins  of  many  of 
the  half-breeds  and  bright  bois  brule  girls  on  the  Eed  river  flows 
the  blood  of  the  men  who  fought  for  Lochiel  and  the  Camer- 
ons,  near  Inverness,  in  1746.  It  only  needs  the  glamour  of  the 
glittering  pen  of  a  Walter  Scott,  or  the  power  which  warms 
Cooper's  thrilling  stories,  to  weave  their  wild  annals  into  ro- 
mances as  fascinating  as  Waverley,  and  as  charming  as  the 
border  scenes  depicted  in  the  Leatherstocking  tales.  I  have 
also  read,  in  Parkman's  histories  of  New  France,  how  Cardinal 
Eichelieu  headed  the  company  of  the  "One  Hundred  Associ- 
ates," in  1627,  who  engaged  in  the  fur  trade  in  Canada.    That 


HISTORY  OP  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  H 

company  was  at  last  merged  in  the  Northwest  Company,  winch 
links  these  noted  characters  to  our  territory,  and  to  a  time 
within  the  memory  of  men  yet  living.  Upon  our  own  border 
we  are  allied  back  to  the  days  of  Louis  XIV,  of  France;  to 
Charles  II,  of  England;  and  to  the  great  chiefs  and  clans  of 
Scotland,  who  fought  at  Culloden  when  the  flag  of  the  Stuarts 
went  down  forever. 

Thus  began  the  era  and  the  reign  of  the  celebrated  fur  com- 
panies in  and  about  the  basin  of  lake  Superior.  They  were 
the  lords  of  the  lake.  They  dwelt  in  semi-baronial  state  in 
their  grand  chateau  at  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  or  transacted  the 
yearly  business  at  their  castellated  rendezvous,  Grand  Por- 
tage, now  in  Cook  county,  Minnesota. 

We  must  here  notice  a  very  remarkable  body  of  men, 
brought  into  action  by  the  fur  companies,  who  rapidly  became 
a  distinctive  class.  The  voyageurs  and  coureurs  des  hois  (rang- 
ers of  the  woods)  were  the  pioneers  of  the  commerce  of  lake 
Superior,  and  of  our  northern  waters.  They  were  the  com- 
mon carriers  of  that  era.  Bold,  daring,  courageous,  they  nav- 
igated the  entire  chain  of  lakes  and  rivers  from  Montreal  to 
Athabasca,  freighting  pelts  and  transporting  supplies  over  an 
area  of  country  as  large  as  Europe.  Swarthy,  sunburnt,  and 
fearless,  they  were  the  heroes  of  the  paddle;  and  for  years 
their  cheery  songs  were  heard  and  their  fleets  were  seen  along 
the  rugged  shores  of  our  great  lake  and  in  all  the  country 
northwestward,  portaging  over  rocks,  shooting  rapids  along 
roaring  rivers,  and  traversing  mighty  wildernesses.  They 
would  have  laughed  at  the  obstacles  of  the  Klondike.  At  a 
later  date,  they  performed  the  almost  incredible  feat  of  cross- 
ing and  recrossing  the  continent  in  birch  bark  canoes,  in  a 
single  season,  and  passed  from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
on  the  Pacific,  to  Fort  William,  on  Lake  Superior,  with  all  the 
regularity  of  a  steamboat.  They  were  indeed  a  wonderful 
race,  lively,  fickle,  polite,  reckless,  and  immoral,  full  of  song 
and  stories  of  wild  adventure.  They  crossed  and  recrossed 
the  continent  long  years  before  Jay  Cooke  or  James  J.  Hill 
ever  dreamed  of  marrying  our  inland  sea,  with  steel  bands,  to 
the  Pacific  ocean,  and  nearly  upon  the  same  geographic  lines. 
One  has  to  read  the  brilliant  pages  of  Irving's  Astoria,  or  the 
adventures  of  Capt.  Bonneville,  to  fully  appreciate  the  char- 


12  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

acter  of  the  early  voyageurs  who  so  boldly  crossed  the  con- 
tinent in  canoes  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago. 

In  1765,  by  an  edict  of  royal  authority,  the  traders  were  re- 
quired to  procure  a  license,  and  the  first  authorized  trader  was 
Alexander  Henry,  grandfather  of  our  late  friend  and  asso- 
ciate, Norman  W.  Kittson.  Henry  received  the  exclusive 
right  to  trade  on  Lake  Superior.  He  was  methodical,  and 
kept  a  diary  to  which  we  are  deeply  indebted.  His  first  stock 
consisted  of  the  freight  of  four  large  canoes,  on  twelve 
months'  credit,  to  be  paid  in  beaver  pelts.  All  accounts  were 
kept  in  beaver  skins.  I  have  found  the  market  price  at  that 
period,  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  journals.  A  single  blan- 
ket was  worth  ten  skins;  a  common  gun,  twenty;  a  pound  of 
powder,  two;  a  pound  of  shot,  one;  and  a  pint  of  rum  would 
buy  anything  an  Indian  had.  The  amazing  extent  of  this 
trade  is  evidenced  from  the  fact  that  Henry,  in  one  expedition, 
secured  12,000  beaver  skins,  besides  great  numbers  of  otter 
and  marten,  and  the  skins  of  some  silver-tailed  foxes. 

Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  canoe  commerce  along  the 
shores  of  our  great  lake  may  be  further  gathered  from  Har- 
mon's journal  (published  in  1820),  who  records  that  he  left  the 
Sault  Ste.  Marie,  on  his  way  to  Grand  Portage,  June  1st,  1800, 
in  company  with  three  hundred  men,  in  thirty-five  canoes.  On 
his  way  beyond  Grand  Portage,  in  the  descent  of  Rainy  river, 
he  met,  on  July  26th,  twenty-four  canoes  from  Lake  Athabas- 
ca, laden  with  furs  to  be  sent  to  Montreal.  Surely  there  were 
men  here  engaged  in  all  the  activities  of  a  wonderful  com- 
merce, before  our  advent  upon  the  stage.  Neither  Duluth,  St. 
Paul,  nor  St.  Anthony,  were  the  first  commercial  marts  of  our 
territory;  for  the  records  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  seen 
at  Fort  William,  pertaining  to  dates  earlier  than  those  already 
noticed,  show  that  Grand  Portage  was  a  commercial  emporium, 
full  of  trade,  shops,  style  and  fashion,  with  drinking  places 
and  police  officers,  the  very  day  John  Hancock  signed  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence. 

But  we  must  no  longer  pursue  this  fascinating  theme, 
which  might  be  profitably  continued  through  the  wars  and 
consolidations  of  the  great  fur  companies. 

The  period  of  their  extensive  trade  on  Lake  Superior  and  in 
the  area  of  the  great  Canadian  Northwest,  under  the  British 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  13 

flag,  with  encroachment  on  territory  in  Minnesota  surrendered 
to  the  United  States  by  the  treaty  of  1783,  extended  no  later 
than  forty  years  from  that  date.  In  1823  the  expedition  of 
Major  Long,  visiting  Fort  William  on  their  eastward  return 
from  Lake  Winnipeg,  found  the  large  fort  nearly  deserted,  the 
fur  trade  on  this  route  north  of  Lake  Superior  having  greatly 
declined.  This  traffic  had  passed  to  the  rivals  and  successors 
of  the  Northwest  company,  being  diverted  northward  to  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  southward  to  fur  traders  of  the 
United  States. 

John  Jacob  Astor,  a  German  furrier  and  merchant  of  New 
York,  who  had  the  highest  enterprise  for  the  extension  of  do- 
mestic and  foreign  trade,  went  to  Montreal  in  1816  and  bought 
all  the  posts  and  factories  of  the  Northwest  Company  south  of 
the  line  which  Franklin's  sagacity  and  foresight  had  given 
us  as  the  international  boundary.    American  lads  from  Ver- 
mont were  brought  out,  and  under  the  influence  of  the  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company  lake  Superior  began  to  be  gradually  Ameri- 
canized.   Astor's  first  agent  was  Ramsay  Crooks,  father  of 
Col.  William  Crooks  of  St.  Paul.    Their  headquarters  were  at 
La  Pointe,  on  an  island  partly  inclosing  Chequamegon  bay 
near  the  head  of  the  lake.    Charles  H.  Oakes,  a  youth  from 
Vermont,  appeared  upon  the  scene.    Associated  with  Oakes 
was  Charles  William  Wulff  Borup,  a  young  Dane,  from  Copen- 
hagen, and  many  other  names  of  strong  and  able  men,  like 
William  and  Allan  Morrison.    In  1842,  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany closed  its  business  and  sold  its  interests  to  Pierre  Chou- 
teau, Jr.,  and  Company,  of  St.  Louis,  who  were  represented  by 
Henry  M.  Rice.    In  1849  Rice  retired  from  the  trade,  and  the 
fur  interests,  no  longer  represented  by  a  powerful  company, 
soon  ceased  to  maintain  the  ancient  supremacy,  and  gradually 
melted  away  before  the  advent  of  new  interests.    Thus  practi- 
cally closed  the  most  remarkable  era  of  early  trade  and  com- 
merce ever  connected  with  the  history  and  fortunes  of  any 
people. 

The  Indian  title  existed  around  the  entire  extent  of  lake 
Superior  until  the  year  1820,  when,  on  June  16th,  Lewis  Cass 
formally  hoisted  the  United  States  flag  at  the  entrance  of  the 
lake,  and  made  the  treaty  by  which  the  Indians  ceded  a  tract 
of  land  four  miles  square  adjoining  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie.    A 


14  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

treaty  made  six  years  later  opened  the  south  shore  to  com- 
mercial activity,  and  thenceforward  a  new  life  of  trade  and 
commerce  was  gradually  developed  upon  our  inland  sea. 
These  treaties,  and  two  subsequent  ones  in  1842  and  in  1854, 
completed  the  cession  of  the  shores  of  the  great  lake,  so  far 
as  they  lie  within  the  United  States,  and  transferred  the  title 
from  the  former  Chippewa  possessors  to  our  national  govern- 
ment 

We  can  give  no  better  illustration  of  the  transportation  in 
use  during  that  early  period  than  is  related  by  the  great  School- 
craft in  describing  the  first  advent  of  a  body  of  United  States 
troops  along  the  shore,  after  one  of  the  treaties;  how  they 
came,  sixty  men  and  officers,  with  a  commissariat  and  a  medical 
department,  borne  on  three  great  twelve-oar  barges,  attended 
by  four  boats  of  subsistence  and  a  fleet  of  canoes,  with  mar- 
tial music  and  with  flags  flying.  As  the  fleet  stretched  out 
in  grand  procession,  Schoolcraft  declares  it  "the  most  noble 
and  imposing  spectacle  ever  yet  seen  on  the  waters  of  lake 
Superior." 

The  advent  of  the  first  sail  vessels  is  not  yet  lost  in  obscu- 
rity. Henry  records  that  in  the  winter  of  1770-71  he  built  at 
Pine  point  on  lake  Superior,  nine  miles  from  the  Sault,  "a 
barge  fit  for  the  navigation  of  the  lake/'  and  his  narration 
shows  it  to  have  been  rigged  with  sails.  In  August,  1772,  he 
launched,  from  the  same  shipyard,  a  sloop  of  forty  tons.  These 
vessels,  used  in  unremunerative  mining  operations,  were  the 
earliest  sailing  craft  known  in  the  history  of  lake  Superior. 
Harmon  mentioned,  in  1800,  a  vessel  of  about  ninety-five  tons 
burden  in  use  then  by  the  Northwest  Company,  plying  four  or 
five  trips  each  summer  between  Pine  point  and  Grand  Portage. 
Schoolcraft  relates  that  on  the  9th  day  of  November,  1833, 
"wheat  in  bulk,  and  flour  in  bags  and  barrels,  were  brought 
down  for  the  first  time."  This  is  the  earliest  record  of  the 
shipping  of  any  native  products  from  lake  Superior,  other 
than  pelts  and  the  commodities  exchanged  for  them. 

TRANSPORTATION   BY  CANALS. 

The  rapids  in  the  Ste.  Marie  river  were  the  one  great  ob- 
stacle to  good  transportation  on  lake  Superior,  and  in  1837 
Gov.  Mason,  of  Michigan,  by  authority  of  the  legislature,  au- 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  15 

thorized  the  first  survey  of  a  proposed  canal,  and  Henry  M. 
Bice,  then  a  young  man,  carried  the  chain.  A  grant  of  lands 
was  given  by  congress,  750,000  acres,  in  1852;  and  Erastus 
Corning,  Joseph  Fairbanks,  and  others,  constituting  the  St. 
Mary's  Falls  Ship  Canal  Company,  finished  the  first  work  on 
the  canal  May  21st,  1855. 

It  should  be  here  noted  that  Harmon's  journal  records  the 
fact  that  previous  to  the  year  1800  the  Northwest  Company 
had  made  a  smaller  canal  and  locks  at  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie 
vf  sufficient  size  for  the  passage  of  large  loaded  canoes  without 
breaking  bulk.  But  no  eye  can  foresee  or  pen  predict  the 
swelling  commerce  from  a  double  empire — the  British  and 
American — in  the  rapid  progress  of  events  yet  destined  to  pass 
over  those  mighty  lakes,  through  those  gates,  in  its  march  to 
the  sea. 

God  never  built  a  railroad,  but  He  did  create  and  establish 
rivers,  lakes,  and  oceans.  Here  there  are  no  charges.  They 
are  the  highways  of  the  Almighty.  They  are  the  ever  present 
and  constant  competitors  of  every  artificial  form  of  transpor- 
tation. They  confront  every  railway  corporation,  and  super- 
vise its  schedule  of  rates.  The  great  lakes  say  to  every  rail- 
way company  in  the  Northwest,  "Before  you  fix  your  sched- 
ules, come  and  see  us."  These  waterway  potencies  are  strong- 
er than  governmental  interferences.  Minnesota,  by  its  superb 
situation,  commanding  the  Mississippi  and  the  western  limit 
of  lake  navigation  at  Duluth,  has  its  full  measure  of  satisfac- 
tion and  protection  by  means  of  its  waterways. 

There  has  been  more  than  one  effort  made  to  extend  our 
great  lacustral  waterway  farther  west  into  the  continent.  In 
1878  a  convention  was  held  at  Duluth  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
jecting a  canal  from  lake  Superior  across  the  state  to  the 
Bed  river.  Three  routes  were  proposed :  one  was  the  Winni- 
bigoshish  line;  the  second,  called  the  southern  route,  by  the 
Crow  Wing  river  and  Otter  Tail  lake,  to  Fergus  Falls;  and  still 
another,  by  Pigeon  river,  called  the  international  route.  Some 
of  these  canal  routes  were  deemed  as  practicable  as  the 
improvement  of  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers,  connecting 
Green  bay  and  the  Mississippi.  This  whole  project  was  very 
seriously  considered,  and  more  than  one  survey  was  under- 
taken.   The  purpose  was  to  penetrate  into  the  world's  best 


16  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

zone  of  wheat,  with  water  carriage.  The  project  derived  some 
stimulus  from  the  fact  that  our  Canadian  neighbors  were  then 
building  what  is  known  as  the  "Dawson  route,''  to  connect 
lake  Superior  through  many  lakes  and  water  stretches,  with 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  This  included  an  immense  lock  at 
Fort  Frances,  near  the  mouth  of  Rainy  lake,  to  pass  the  Koo- 
chiching falls  of  Rainy  river,  which  was  actually  nearly  com- 
pleted at  an  immense  cost.  The  Canadian  government  really 
established  this  route,  putting  tugs  on  the  lakes,  and  ox  carts 
on  the  portages,  and  thus  carried  thousands  of  their  emigrants 
to  Manitoba.  I  doubt  not  that  somewhere  in  our  northern 
lacustrine  region  lies  the  undeveloped  form  of  a  great  East 
and  West  canal,  planned  by  engineers  and  once  confidently 
expected  to  be  finished;  but  the  iron  horse  which  came  to 
browse  in  the  haunts  of  the  elk  and  the  buffalo  has  relegated 
these  projects  to  the  limbo  of  abandoned  schemes. 

STEAMBOATING  QN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  AND  MINNESOTA  RIVERS. 

We  must  now  return  a  moment  to  the  great  Father  of  Wa- 
ters, on  whose  bosom  had  floated,  in  the  twilight  of  long  ago, 
Hennepin,  Du  Luth,  Le  Sueur,  and  the  intrepid  French  voy- 
ageurs  and  traders. 

May  10th,  1823,  occurred  a  stirring  event,  the  arrival  of 
the  first  steamboat,  the  "Virginia/'  from  St.  Louis,  loaded 
with  stores  for  Fort  Snelling.  This  was  the  first  steamboat 
ever  seen  by  our  Dakota  Indians,  and  their  fright  was  extreme, 
as  they  thought  it  some  supernatural  monster.  The  Virginia 
opened  the  upper  Mississippi  to  steam  navigation,  and  up  to 
May  26th,  1826,  fifteen  steamers  had  arrived  at  Fort  Snelling. 
In  1839,  about  nine  steamboats  were  running  pretty  regularly 
to  Fort  Snelling.  In  1847  and  1848  there  was  organized  what 
was  known  as  the  Galena  and  Minnesota  Packet  Company. 
Among  the  list  of  the  company  we  find  the  names  of  H.  L. 
Dousman,  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  H.  H.  Sibley,  of  Mendota. 
This  company  first  purchased  the  steamer  Argo,  of  which  M. 
W.  Lodwick  was  captain,  and  our  honored  vice  president,  Rus- 
sell Blakeley,  then  of  Galena,  was  clerk.  In  the  autumn  of 
1847*this  boat  struck  a  snag  near  Wabasha  and  sank.  Dur- 
ing the  next  winter  the  captain  and  clerk  went  to  Cincinnati, 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  17 

Ohio,  and  purchased  the  Dr.  Franklin,  which  was  run  very 
successfully  for  many  years.  Eussell  Blakeley,  having  been 
clerk  of  this  steamer  five  years,  in  1852  became  its  captain, 
and  afterwards  was  captain  of  the  Nominee  and  the  Galena, 
bringing  to  St  Paul  on  these  boats  thousands  of  our  earlier  and 
best  citizens. 

The  organization  of  the  Galena  and  Minnesota  Packet  Com- 
pany established  system  and  regularity  of  our  river  transpor- 
tation; and  from  that  time  the  river  became  the  chief  artery 
of  our  trade  and  the  inlet  to  our  immigration,  till  superseded 
by  railways.  In  the  "forties,"  St.  Paul  averaged  from  forty 
to  ninety  steamboat  arrivals  per  annum.  Following  the  Ga- 
lena company  came  the  Dubuque  and  St.  Paul  Packet  Com- 
pany, the  St.  Louis  and  St.  Paul  Line,  and  many  others,  to  the 
last,  the  Diamond  Jo  Packet  Company,  which  still  exists. 
This  review  calls  up  the  honored  names  of  Davidson,  Reynolds, 
Rhodes,  and  many  others.  The  steamboat  business  became 
vast  in  extent.  The  culmination  of  this  method  of  transporta- 
tion was  about  1857  and  1858.  The  former  year  there  were 
965  arrivals,  and  in  the  latter  year,  1,090.  The  arrival  of  a 
Mississippi  steamer  in  that  earlier  era  was  a  matter  of  the 
greatest  importance,  and  curious  crowds  gathered  at  the  land- 
ing to  witness  the  scene.  When  I  first  came  to  Minnesota,  in 
May,  1857,  on  the  old  War  Eagle,  I  thought  the  whole  popula- 
tion had  turned  out  to  give  me  a  welcome! 

The  advent  of  steamboats  into  the  Minnesota  river  gave  a 
wonderful  impetus  to  the  settlement  and  development  of  that 
fertile  valley.  I  have  verified  the  statements  by  the  files  of 
the  old  Pioneer,  whose  editor,  James  M.  Goodhue,  accompanied 
both  of  the  earlier  expeditions  up  the  river  and  wrote  a  de- 
tailed account  of  each.  On  Friday,  the  28th  of  June,  1850,  the 
steamer  Anthony  Wayne,  which  had  just  arrived  at  St.  Paul 
with  a  pleasure  party  from  St.  Louis,  agreed,  for  the  sum  of 
$225,  to  take  all  passengers  desiring  to  go,  as  far  up  the  river 
as  navigation  was  possible.  About  three  hundred  guests,  with 
a  band  of  music  from  Quincy,  111.,  and  the  Sixth  Regiment 
band  from  Fort  Snelling,  started  up  the  river.  They  fought 
mosquitoes,  danced,  and  passed  a  dozen  Indian  villages,  till 
they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth  river,  above  Man- 


18  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

kato.  Again,  says  Goodhue,  on  the  24th  day  of  July,  1850, 
the  steamer  Yankee  ascended  the  stream,  and,  picking  up  the 
shingle  of  the  Anthony  Wayne,  carried  it  as  far  as  the  mouth 
of  the  Cottonwood  river.  After  the  Indian  treaty  of  1851, 
navigation  gradually  became  regular;  and  the  Tiger,  Nominee, 
Humboldt,  Equator,  Time  and  Tide,  Jeannette  Roberts,  Frank 
Steele,  and  Favorite,  appeared  successively  in  the  trade,  till 
the  advent  of  the  iron  horse  drove  them  out  of  business. 

OUR  WAGON  ROADS  AND  STAGE  LINES. 

Our  wTagon  roads  in  the  beginning  were  very  crude.  The 
tirst  road  has  been  referred  to,  running  from  Grand  Portage 
to  Fort  William.  The  second  was  from  St.  Paul  to  Mendota, 
crossing  the  ferry  at  Fort  Snelling.  The  next  one  was  to  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  In  1849,  Amherst  Willoughby  and 
Simon  Powers  commenced  running  a  daily  line  of  wagons, 
during  the  summer  only,  between  St.  Paul  and  St.  Anthony. 
In  1851,  these  same  parties  brought  to  Minnesota,  and  put  on 
the  line,  the  first  Concord  stages  ever  run  in  our  state.  In 
1851,  also,  Lyman  L.  Benson  and  Mr.  Pattison  came  from 
Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  and  brought  a  large  livery  outfit.  They 
put  on  a  yellow  line  in  opposition  to  Willoughby  and  Powers' 
coaches,  which  were  red.  A  furious  opposition  resulted,  and 
gave  birth  to  the  first  "cut  rates"  in  the  history  of  our  state. 
AfterwTard,  in  1856,  our  good  friend  Alvaren  Allen  and 
Charles  L.  Chase  appeared  upon  the  scene,  and  run  a  line  to 
the  upper  Mississippi;  and  in  1859  they  consolidated  with  J. 
C.  Burbank  and  Oapt.  Kussell  Blakeley,  forming  a  new  com- 
pany under  the  name  of  the  Minnesota  Stage  Company.  In 
1853,  M.  O.  Walker  established  a  winter  line  down  through 
Minnesota  and  Iowa  to  Dubuque,  and  had  the  mail  contract. 
But  in  1858  J.  C.  Burbank  &  Co.  got  the  winter  mail  contract 
and  drove  the  other  line  out.  In  1854  and  1855,  William  Net- 
tleton  established  a  line  of  stages  to  Duliith;  but  this  line 
also  was  soon  absorbed  by  the  Minnesota  Stage  Company. 

In  1851,  J.  C,  Burbank  established  the  first  express  business, 
and  he  was  the  father  of  that  sort  of  transportation  in  this 
state.  He  was  himself  the  first  express  messenger,  and  car- 
ried the  first  package  entrusted  to  him,  from  Galena  to  St. 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  19 

Paul,  in  his  pocket.  Later,  in  1856,  Capt  Russell  Blakeley 
bought  an  interest  in  the  growing  business;  and  with  these 
enterprising  spirits,  Burbank  and  Blakeley,  new  life  was  in- 
fused into  our  young  transportation  system.  The  Minnesota 
Stage  Company  and  the  Northwestern  Express  Company  were 
very  closely  identified  in  business  relations.  In  18G0,  John 
L.  Merriam  bought  out  the  interest  of  Allen  and  Chase  in  the 
stage  company;  and  for  the  ensuing  seven  years  this  firm  of 
Burbank,  Blakeley  &  Merriam  carried  on  the  stage  and  ex- 
press business  with  wonderful  energy  and  activity.  Their  ag- 
gregate routes  covered  about  1,300  miles,  besides  300  miles 
more  by  "pony"  routes.  In  1865  they  worked  over  seven  hun- 
dred horses,  and  employed  more  than  two  hundred  men.  This 
firm  left  a  splendid  name  for  the  energy,  fairness,  and  justice 
which  always  characterized  their  dealing  with  the  public  as 
common  carriers.  But  this  very  enterprising  firm  did  not 
stop  there. 

In  1857  and  1858,  Ramsay  Crooks,  agent  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company,  sought  transportation  for  the  goods  of  that 
company  through  Minnesota  to  the  far  North.  Captain  Blake- 
ley himself  made  the  contract  with  Crooks  in  Washington, 
and  Blakeley  visited  the  Red  river  late  in  the  autumn  of  1858, 
and  decided  that  it  could  be  navigated.  The  next  season  a 
steamboat,  the  Anson  Northup,  was  built  on  the  Red  river, 
and  was  run  by  the  company  under  the  command  of  Capt 
Edwin  Bell.  This  was  followed  by  a  contract  with  Sir  George 
Simpson,  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  to  transfer  their  goods 
to  the  Red  River  Settlement,  now  Manitoba,  from  Montreal, 
through  St  Paul.  Soon  the  company  built  the  steamboat  In- 
ternational, and  thus  was  navigation  established  on  the  Red 
river  of  the  North. 

The  history  which  I  have  here  glanced  at  affected  the  set- 
tlement and  development  of  our  state  in  the  most  substantial 
manner.  Early  transportation  was  thus  established,  amid  in- 
numerable obstacles,  and  carried  over  the  whole  extent  of 
our  territory,  with  a  degree  of  energy  and  success  that  marks 
the  men  identified  with  it  as  bold,  aggressive,  and  grand  char- 
acters in  the  history  of  our  early  transportation. 

We  must  recur  a  moment  to  an  early  and  important  road, 
established  by  the  War  Department  as  a  military  road,  from 


20  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Mendota  to  the  Big  Sioux  river.  The  work  was  begun  in  1853, 
and  was  completed  in  1857,  by  authority  of  an  act  of  congress. 
This  road  was  located  along  the  Minnesota  river  valley.  It 
was  the  first  road  with  bridges,  and  furnished  good  facilities 
for  travel  and  early  immigration.  At  one  time,  a  system  of 
plank  roads  was  sought  to  be  established,  and  our  Territorial 
Legislature  organized  no  less  than  six  separate  companies, 
but  none  ever  materialized. 

THE  RED  RIVER  OX  CART  TRADE. 

It  would  be  a  serious  omission  to  neglect  to  mention  the 
extraordinary  cart  trade  with  Pembina.  The  beginning  of  this 
trade  is  undoubtedly  due  to  Norman  W.  Kittson,  our  well- 
known  pioneer,  and  he  blazed  out  that  line  of  travel  which 
was  ultimately  adopted  by  the  Minnesota  Stage  Company, 
Kittson,  in  1843,  established  a  trading  post  at  Pembina.  This 
trade  grew  till  1854,  when  the  firm  of  Forbes  &  Kittson  had 
fully  established  a  great  line  of  business.  For  a  period  of 
about  twenty  years,  the  furs  from  the  Pembina  region  were 
shipped  in  the  most  curious  vehicle  known  to  modern  com- 
mercial life.  It  was  a  two-wheeled  concern,  of  very  rude  but 
strong  workmanship,  made  entirely  of  wood  and  leather,  with- 
out a  particle  of  iron,  and  would  carry  from  six  to  seven  hun- 
dred pounds.  This  cart  cost  about  f  15.  To  the  cart  an  ox 
was  geared  by  broad  bands  of  buffalo  hide.  Sometimes  there 
were  two  oxen,  driven  tandem.  No  grease  was  used,  and  the 
creaking  axles  were  heard  far  away.  From  Pembina  to  St. 
Paul  was  about  448  miles.  They  generally  consumed  some 
thirty  or  forty  days  in  the  trip,  and  would  arrive  in  St.  Paul 
^arly  in  July. 

The  drivers  were  not  less  striking  in  their  appearance  than 
the  carts  and  oxen.  The  Ked  river  half-breeds  (hois  'bruits) 
were  a  peculiar  people  with  a  character  and  dress  half  civil- 
ized and  half  barbaric.  They  generally  camped  near  what  was 
called  Larpenteur's  lake,  near  the  intersection  of  Dale  and 
Marshall  streets.  They  brought  down  pemican,  buffalo 
tongues,  and  buffalo  robes,  with  furs  and  pelts,  and  took  back 
teas,  tobacco,  alcohol,  hardware,  etc.  In  1844  there  were  only 
six  carts  in  the  trade;   in  1851,  one  hundred  and  two;   and 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  21 

in  1857,  five  hundred.  The  value  of  this  trade  was  a  helpful 
auxiliary  to  our  business  in  those  early  times.  While  in  1844 
it  was  reported  at  only  $1,400,  in  1863  it  reached  $250,000. 
But  the  increase  of  the  Burbank  &  Op.  freight  lines,  the  estab- 
lishment of  steam  navigation  on  the  Red  river,  and  the  Sioux 
war  of  1862,  combined  to  drive  these  primitive  prairie  carts 
out  of  the  field  of  trade.  The  fur  trade,  it  should  be  re- 
membered, was  always  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  our  early 
commerce  and  income.  The  prices  of  furs  in  some  cases 
showed  great  fluctuation  on  account  of  changing  demands  of 
fashion.  A  mink  skin,  which  in  1857  brought  only  twenty 
cents,  in  1863  had  risen  to  five  dollars  and  even  seven  dollars 
in  value. 

WINTER  TRAVEL  BY  DOG  TRAINS. 

The  dog  trains  ought  not  to  be  forgotten,  for  during  the 
long  winters  they  did  much  freighting.  Travellers  would  gen- 
erally have  these  dogs  driven  tandem,  and  would  travel  from 
thirty  to  forty  miles  a  day.  Some  traders,  with  great  pride, 
would  have  a  cariole,  with  jingling  bells,  such  as  Kittson  and 
Rolette  came  in,  when  they  had  been  elected  to  the  Legislature 
of  1852;  and  their  coming  attracted  as  much  attention  as  the 
arrival  of  a  Mississippi  steamboat  in  the.  summer.  When 
Commodore  Kittson's  first  wife  died,  on  the  spot  where  the 
Ryan  Hotel  now  stands,  her  remains  were  taken  from  St.  Paul 
to  Pembina,  in  the  dead  of  winter,  by  a  dog  train. 

PRESENT  TRANSPORTATION  ON  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 

Let  us  return  and  resume,  for  a  moment,  the  story  of  our 
developing  commerce,  on  the  most  prodigious  body  of  pure 
water  in  the  world.  That  from  the  feeble  beginnings  we  have 
noted  this  inland  sea  should  have  developed  its  present  vast 
traffic,  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  facts  of  the  commer- 
cial world.  What  would  Alexander  Henry  or  Henry  Rowe 
Schoolcraft  think,  if  they  could  witness  the  magnitude  of  the 
fleets  which  now  cover  its  bright  waters?  The  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  river  is  the  key  to  lake  Superior.  The  rapids  of  this 
river,  from  the  level  of  one  lake  to  the  level  of  the  other,  fall 
twenty  feet.  To  overcome  this  barrier  was  a  necessity  of  our 
lake  commerce.    This  natural  obstacle  has  been  practically 


22  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

surmounted  by  our  government;  and  in  1896  we  have  the 
official  total  of  vessels  passing  through  the  "Soo"  canals  as 
18,615,  with  a  registered  tonnage  of  over  17,000,000.  More 
than  8,820  of  the  vessels  were  for  Minnesota  ports.  To  more 
fully  comprehend  the  magnitude  of  this  lake  commerce,  we 
may  compare  it  with  an  official  report  which  shows  that  but 
3,434  vessels  passed  through  the  Suez  canal  in  1895,  with  a 
registered  tonnage  of  only  8,448,225.  The  commerce  passing 
the  "Soo"  was  thus  more  than  double  that  of  the  great  inter- 
ocean  canal  of  De  Lesseps.  Every  year  this  trade  expands. 
New  vessels,  with  new  designs  and  enlarged  capacities,  con- 
tinue to  astonish  us.  That  remarkable  class  of  vessels  known 
as  the  "whalebacks"  appeared  in  July,  1888,  the  first  one 
being  named  "No.  101."  The  first  of  the  enormous  steel  steam- 
ships of  James  J.  Hill  was  launched  in  the  winter  of  1892-93/ 
and  entered  on  business  the  following  June.  It  was  named 
the  "Northwest."  It  was  followed  by  the  "Northland,"  a  sister 
ship,  the  following  year.  Such  floating  palaces  are  scarcely 
to  be  seen  on  any  ocean  of  the  world.  Let  me  here  note,  for 
the  enlargement  of  our  minds  to  the  measure  of  the  lake 
traffic,  that,  for  the  year  1896,  47,942  carloads  of  grain  were 
emptied  into  our  lake  vessels,  or  59,828,999  bushels,  all  of 
which  arrived  at  Duluth  that  year  and  was  shipped  through 
our  lake  on  its  journey  to  the  east  and  to  Europe. 

Think  of  the  big  "400-footers"  now  on  the  lake,  which  can 
carry  the  products  of  a  hundred  farms!  In  1895  the  "Selim 
Eddy"  carried  121,000  bushels  of  wheat.  Within  the  past 
year  the  "Empire  City"  took  out  205,445  bushels.  This  is 
about  the  product  of  17,000  acres,  at  the  average  of  our  pro- 
duction. It  would  load  342  cars,  and  at  forty  cars  to  the 
train  would  make  more  than  eight  great  trains  of  grain.  It 
is  6,163  tons  of  grain.  Converted  into  flour,  it  would  make 
46,000  barrels! 

The  growth  of  our  lake  trade  is  simply  unparalleled  in 
the  history  of  transportation.  Deeper  waterways  and  bigger 
ships  go  hand  in  hand.  New  enterprises  are  constantly  in  the 
air.  It  is  now  whispered  that  the  transcontinental  lines  are 
to  open  up  trade  from  the  lake  with  Asia;  while  another 
dream  is  to  make  deep  waterways  connecting  with  the  At- 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  23 

lantie  so  that  vessels  may  pass,  without  breaking  bulk,  to  the 
waters  of  the  ocean.  It  may  be  something  more  than  a  dream, 
that  we  shall  yet  hear  the  ebb  and  now  of  the  Atlantic  on 
the  shores  of  the  Zenith  City.  Our  lake  steamship  trade  is 
the  marvel  of  the  world.  Great  records  are  made  only  to  be 
broken. 

But  we  are  not  yet  done  and  must  linger  to  note  that  an 
entirely  new  commerce  has  appeared  on  the  north  shore  of 
lake  Superior.  Originating  within  our  own  territory,  the  rapid- 
ity and  magnitude  of  its  growth  is  absolutely  astounding.  In 
1883,  not  a  pound  of  iron  ore  had  yet  been  shipped  from  Min- 
nesota. The  Vermilion  range  was  opened  in  1884,  and  the 
great  Mesabi  not  till  1892.  In  1897,  the  Mesabi  produced 
twice  as  much  ore  as  either  the  Marquette,  Gogebic,  or  Me- 
nominee ranges.  The  port  of  Two  Harbors  takes  both  Ver- 
milion and  Mesabi  ores,  while  Duluth  handles .  Mesabi  ores 
only.  The  investment  in  the  lake  Superior  ore  trade,  includ- 
ing mines,  buildings,  railroads,  and  docks,  has  been  estimated 
at  |150,000,000;  and  the  value  of  the  fleet  doing  this  special 
transportation  is  but  little  short  of  $50,000,000.  The  latest 
movement  in  the  transportation  of  this  ore  appears  in  the 
fleet  of  steel  steamers,  put  in  our  trade  by  the  Bessemer 
Steamship  Company  of  Cleveland,  behind  which  is  John  D. 
Rockefeller.  They  are  now  building  these  steam  monsters 
with  a  capacity  of  7,000  gross  or  long  tons,  with  barges  of 
equal  capacity.     The  lakes  control  the  entire  ore  traffic. 

This  inland  navigation  starts  with  Minnesota.  Among  the 
components  of  its  volume,  ore  stands  first,  grain  second,  lum- 
ber third,  and  then  comes  general  merchandise.  In  1857,  it 
cost  nearly  ten  cents  per  bushel  to  ship  wheat  from  Chicago 
to  Buffalo;  but  in  1897  wheat  was  shipped  from  Duluth  to 
Buffalo  at  rates  slightly  over  one  and  a  half  cents.  Ore  has 
been  carried  from  our  ports  to  lake  Erie,  in  1897,  for  57  cents 
a  long  ton;  and  returning  vessels  have  carried  coal  to  Duluth 
for  15  cents  a  short  ton. 

THE    ADVENT    OP   RAILWAYS. 

It  has  been  well  said,  that  the  highways  of  nations  are 
the  measure  of  their  civilization.    By  means  of  speedy  transit, 


24  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

society,  government,  commerce,  arts,  wealth,  intelligence,  are 
developed  and  advanced  to  their  highest  excellence.  The 
thirty-one  roads  which  radiated  from  the  forum  of  Rome  into 
her  vast  provinces,  like  spokes  from  the  nave  of  a  wheel,  were 
proofs  of  the  wisdom  and  grandeur  of  the  Roman  rule.  The 
substitution  of  turnpikes  for  muddy  lanes  is  on  the  line  of 
true  progress.  In  the  pre-railway  times  of  England,  freight 
transportation  by  earth  roads  averaged  twenty-six  cents  per 
ton  per  mile.  The  railways  came  and  soon  carried  a  ton  of 
goods  twenty-five  miles  an  hour  for  two  cents  per  mile.  The 
value  of  a  wagon  load  of  wheat  is  totally  consumed  in  hauling 
it  on  an  earth  road  three  hundred  miles.  The  advent  of  the 
locomotive  into  our  territory  swept  away  other  modes  of  trans- 
portation, except  by  water,  and  became  the  swift  civilizer  of 
the  prairie  and  wilderness.  No  other  known  power  could 
have  accomplished  what  we  now  behold,  in  the  compass  of  a 
single  generation. 

In  the  spring  of  1862  there  was  not  a  mile  of  railway  in 
Minnesota.  On  June  30th,  1897,  the  aggregate  length  of  our 
railways  was  6,086.35  miles.  It  is  quite  difficult  to  fix  the 
precise  time  of  the  very  first  agitation  for  a  railway  within 
our  borders.  There  is  some  unwritten  history  which  may 
here  be  snatched  from  oblivion.  In  1847,  Prof.  Increase  A. 
Lapham  outlined  a  plan  for  two  railroads,  one  from  lake  Su- 
perior and  another  from  St.  Paul,  which  were  to  meet  on  the 
Red  river,  below  where  Fergus  Falls  now  is;  and  that  point 
of  junction  was  to  be  called  Lapham.  This  gentleman  care- 
fully viewed  the  country  and  made  a  map  of  the  routes  and 
a  written  outline  of  his  plans,  which  are  in  existence  to  this 
day.  James  M.  Goodhue,  in  an  editorial  in  the  Pioneer,  in 
1850,  gave  the  first  prophetic  vision  of  a  Northern  Pacific  rail- 
way, and  specifically  outlined  a  northern  route,  which  he  be- 
lieved was  shorter  and  safer  than  the  one  then  proposed  from 
St  Louis  to  San  Francisco.  He  cited  the  fact  that  there  was 
then  a  trail  from  the  Red  river  to  the  mouth  Of  the  Columbia 
river,  over  which  mails  were  regularly  carried  by  the  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company.  His  article  was  headed  "A  Short  Route 
to  Oregon." 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  25 

Before  the  admission  of  Minnesota  as  a  state,  in  1858,,  many 
railroad  companies  had  been  chartered  by  the  Territorial 
legislature.  The  first  recorded  effort  was  by  J.  W.  Selby  of 
this  city,  who  gave  notice  of  the  introduction  of  a  bill  on 
March  2nd,  in  the  session  of  1852,  to  incorporate  the  Lake  Su- 
perior and  Mississippi  River  Railroad  Company.  It  passed 
in  the  House,  but  failed  in  the  Council;  but  it  actually  became 
a  law  March  2nd,  1853,  by  a  subsequent  legislature.  The  sec- 
ond charter  was  granted  to  the  Minnesota  Western  Railroad 
Company,  March  3rd,  1853;  and  the  third  to  the  Louisiana  and 
Minnesota  Railroad  Company  March  5th,  1853.  Not  less  than 
twenty-seven  railroad  companies  were  authorized  and  char- 
tered from  1853  to  1857.  But  there  was  no  life  in  any  of  them 
till  March  3rd,  1857,  when  Congress  made  a  magnificent  grant 
of  lands  "for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  the  construction  of  rail- 
roads in  the  Territory  of  Minnesota."  Then  the  scene  changed, 
and  on  May  22nd,  1857,  the  Territorial  legislature  passed  an 
act  granting  these  Congressional  lands  to  four  corporations, 
namely,  the  Minnesota  and  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  the 
Transit  Railroad  Company,  the  Root  River  Valley  and  South- 
ern Minnesota  Railroad  Company,  and  the  Minneapolis  and 
Cedar  Valley  Railroad  Company. 

The  state  constitution,  adopted  October  13th,  1857,  pro- 
vided in  Art  9,  Sec.  10,  as  follows:  "The  credit  of  the  state 
shall  never  be  given  or  loaned  in  aid  of  any  individual,  asso- 
ciation, or  corporation."  But  on  March  9th,  1858,  the  state 
legislature  passed  an  act  submitting  to  the  people  an  amend- 
ment of  this  section  of  the  constitution,  so  as  to  permit  tne 
loaning  of  the  credit  of  the  state  to  the  land  grant  railroad 
companies  to  the  amount  of  five  million  dollars;  and  it  was 
adopted  by  popular  vote  on  April  15th.  Grading  on  each  of 
the  recognized  lines  began,  and  Gov.  Sibley  delivered  to  each 
of  the  roads  such  bonds  as  they  had  earned  under  the  condi- 
tions of  the  grant. 

The  railroad  companies,  however,  failed  to  pay  the  interest 
on  the  bonds;  work  on  the  lines  was  practically  suspended, 
and  the  five  million  loan  amendment  was  repealed  by  a  nearly 
unanimous  popular  vote,  November  6th,  1860.  During  the 
year  1860,  the  state  enforced  its  lien  on  each  of  the  lines,  and 


26  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

became  the  owner  of  the  franchises,  lands,  and  roadbeds. 
Subsequently,  in  1862,  the  state  made  new  grants  of  these  fran- 
chises and  lands  to  other  companies,  thus  infusing  new  life 
into  these  dead  railways. 

The  first  company  to  get  the  benefit  of  this  new  effort  to 
revive  the  lapsed  roads,  was  the  Minnesota  and  Pacific,  which 
reappeared  with  a  new  name,  the  St.  Paul  and  Pacific  Railroad 
Company.  The  franchises  of  the  old  line  were  conferred, 
March  10th,  1862,  on  Dwight  Woodbury,  Henry  T.  Welles,  R. 
R.  Nelson,  Edmund  Rice,  Edwin  A.  C.  Hatch,  James  E.  Thomp- 
son, Leander  Gorton,  Richard  Chute,  William  Lee,  and  their 
associates  and  successors.  A  contract  was  made  with  Elias 
F.  Drake,  of  Ohio,  and  V.  Winters,  to  construct  that  portion 
of  the  line  between  St.  Paul  and  St.  Anthony,  and  it  was  com- 
pleted and  running  June  28th,  1862,  and  was  the  first  railway 
in  operation  within  the  limits  of  our  State.  The  establish- 
ment of  this  line  gave  an  impetus  to  railway  matters  in  Min- 
nesota. Edmund  Rice  was  the  first  president  of  this  road. 
The  first  engine  was  named  "William  Crooks,"  and  was  run 
by  Webster  C.  Gardner.  President  Rice  went  to  Europe  about 
this  time,  to  solicit  the  first  foreign  capital  in  aid  of  railways 
in  our  state.  He  shipped  back  3,000  tons  of  rails,  and  work 
was  pushed  on  toward  Rreckenridge. 

The  second  railway  was  begun  in  1863.  Section  25  of  the 
original  charter  of  the  Minnesota  and  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany had  authorized  a  line  from  Winona  to  St*  Paul.  On 
March  6th,  1863,  a  grant  of  state  swamp  lands  was  made  to 
this  line,  and  St.  Paul  gave  it  a  bonus  of  $50,000,  being  the 
first  bonus  to  a  railway  in  our  state.  The  name  was  now 
changed  to  the  St.  Paul  and  Chicago  Railroad  Company. 
Edmund  Rice  was  also  the  first  president  of  this  company. 
He  again  visited  England  and  secured  aid  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  road,  and  work  was  prosecuted  with  diligence.  He 
also  went  to  Washington  to  secure  an  enlargement  of  the  land 
grant.  It  was  there  I  first  met  Edmund  Rice.  He  was  dis- 
tributing magnificent  bouquets  to  the  wives  of  members  of 
Congress  with  a  princely  hand.  It  is  needless  to  add  that  he 
secured  his  land  grant.  This  line  was  completed  to  La  Cres- 
cent in   1872.     Through  eastern  trains  began   running,  via 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  27 

Winona,  in  September,  1872.  In  a  short  time,  this  line  was 
consolidated  with  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul,  and 
its  separate  existence  ceased. 

In  contrast  with  the  convenience  of  travel  and  transporta- 
tion of  freight  now  afforded  by  this  river  valley  route,  I  may 
recall  the  conditions  of  sixty  years  ago.  En-me-ga-bow,  the 
aged  Indian  pastor  and  co-worker  of  Bishop  Whipple  and 
Eev.  J.  A.  Gdlfillan  among  the  Ojibways  of  northern  Minne- 
sota, who  has  been  a  welcome  visitor  at  the  White  House  in 
Washington,  and  who  is  yet  living  on  the  White  Earth  Reser- 
vation, has  related  the  experiences  encountered  in  his  youth 
when  he  passed  down  the  Mississippi,  transporting  his  effects 
in  his  bark  canoe  from  the  Pillager  bands  in  the  north  to 
Prairie  du  Chien  and  return,  meeting  no  white  man  on  the 
way  except  at  Fort  Snelling. 

To  follow  the  birth  and  development  of  our  great  railway 
lines  is  a  task  far  beyond  the  limits  of  this  paper.  But  we 
must  notice  the  growth  and  influence  of  two  or  three  systems 
upon  the  fortunes  of  our  state,  and  from  them  learn  the  in- 
fluence of  all.  Take  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City  Railroad 
Company.  This  company  was  incorporated  in  1857,  to  build 
one  of  the  lines  of  the  Root  River  Valley  and  Southern  Minne- 
sota railroad.  But  in  1864  it  was  organized  anew,  and  was 
called  the  Minnesota  Valley  Railroad  Company.  Under  the 
operation  of  the  Five  Million  Loan,  some  work  had  been  done 
in  1858,  between  Mendota  and  Shakopee.  This  work  had  been 
suspended  as  upon  other  lines,  but  was  revived  under  the  act 
of  1864.  The  new  incorporators  were  such  men  as  E.  F. 
Drake,  John  L,  Merriam,  J.  C.  Burbank,  Capt.  Russell  Blake- 
ley,  and  others.  It  was  essentially  a  home  institution,  these 
men,  who  were  citizens  of  St.  Paul,  furnishing  the  money  to 
construct  and  equip  the  road.  It  was  opened  from  Mendota 
to  Shakopee  on  November  16th,  1865;  to  Belle  Plaine,  No- 
vember 19th,  1866;  to  Mankato,  October  12th,  1868;  and  to 
Sioux  City  in  1872.  The  telegraph  was  opened  through  at 
the  same  time.  During  all  its  building  period,  this  railroad 
was  owned  and  operated  exclusively  by  St.  Paul  men.  Its  first 
president  was  E.  F.  Drake;  its  chief  engineer  was  John  B. 
Fish;  its  first  superintendent  was  John  F.  Lincoln;   and  its 


28  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

first  conductor  was  Alanson  Messer,  who  still  retains  the  same 
position,  and  is  an  honored  citizen  of  St.  Paxil.  It  is  probable 
that  Mr.  Messer  and  the  Hon.  James  Smith,  Jr.,  attorney  of 
the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  Railroad  Company,  are  the  two  oldest 
railroad  men  in  the  state,  in  continuous  service  on  the  same 
line,  their  railway  service  being  always  within  the  limits  of 
our  state.  The  building  of  this  line  gave  a  most  important 
and  valuable  highway  to  the  commerce  of  the  great  Minne- 
sota valley.  It  furnished  that  character  of  transportation 
which  the  times  demanded.  It  invited  immigration,  and 
speedily  created  a  grand  civilized  kingdom  in  those  rich  soli- 
tudes which  Le  Sueur  had  bravely  penetrated  nearly  two  hun- 
dred years  ago. 

Take  also  the  St  Paul  and  Duluth  line.  This  first  ap- 
peared under  the  name  of  the  Nebraska  and  Lake  Superior 
Railroad  Company,  chartered  in  1857.  It  brings  to  our  vision 
the  honored  names  of  Lyman  Dayton,  Capt.  William  L.  Ban- 
ning, James  Smith,  Jr.,  Parker  Paine,  and  others,  identified 
with  its  battles,  its  dark  days,  and  its  final  triumph.  It  was 
completed  to  Duluth  in  1870,  by  the  aid  of  Philadelphia  cap- 
italists. The  great  function  of  this  line  was  to  unite  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  with  the  great  lake  waterways,  and  thus  it  be- 
came a  powerful  agent  in  regulating  tariffs  in  the  state.  It 
is  so  situated  that  it  could  not  make  tariffs  of  its  own,  except 
for  local  purposes;  but  it  was  the  regulator  of  tariffs.  It  was 
a  sort  of  common  highway  for  all  the  other  lines  to  the  head 
of  the  lake,  and  the  great  systems  have  always  prorated  with 
it.  But  its  supreme  function  was  to  regulate  our  traffic  in  its 
relation  to  the  great  waterways,  and  in  this  it  has  served  a 
noble  purpose. 

The  Northern  Pacific  railroad  early  occupied  a  commanding 
position  among  our  transportation  systems.  The  building  of  a 
line  from  the  head  of  the  lake  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  through  the 
great  northern  zone,  was  pregnant  with  vast  commercial  in- 
terests to  the  future  of  Minnesota.  Its  building  generated  for 
us  forces  of  trade  and  immigration  which  have  been  stupen- 
dous. Jay  Cooke  stands  at  the  beginning  of  the  great  pano- 
rama, as  its  most  conspicuous  character;  while  Henry  Villard 
rises  before  us  as  a  monument  at  the  completed  end  of  this 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  29 

transcontinental  line.  Its  charter  was  granted  by  Congress, 
July  2nd,  1864,  and  was  signed  by  Abraham  Lincoln.  It  re- 
ceived a  land  grant  commensurate  with  the  magnitude  of  the 
undertaking.  The  15th  day  of  February,  1870,  near  Thomson 
Junction,  on  a  winter's  day,  the  first  dirt  was  thrown  in  the 
presence  of  a  great  crowd  by  Col.  J.  B.  Culver,  of  Duluth.  On 
the  8th  day  of  September,  1883,  the  last  spike  (not  a  gold  one) 
was  driven  at  Cold  Creek,  Montana.  I  witnessed  the  event, 
while  holding  a  chair  on  which  stood  Gen.  XL  S.  Grant,  the 
silent  observer  of  this  historic  scene.  Like  some  startling 
romance  reads  the  history  of  the  inception  and  the  construc- 
tion, amid  almost  insuperable  difficulties,  to  its  final  com- 
pletion, of  this  first  northern  continental  highway.  It  was 
the  new  artery  of  the  great  northern  zone  of  production. 
From  lake  Superior  to  Puget  sound,  the  hum  of  activity  pre- 
vailed. Cities  sprung  into  existence,  water-powers  were  de- 
veloped, lumber,  fishing,  and  mining  interests  were  unfolded, 
under  the  incentive  of  this  national  highway.  And  it  was 
Minnesota's  good  fortune  to  stand  at  the  gateway,  where  her 
merchants  were  to  toll  this  wonderful  wealth.  This  colossal 
enterprise  sent  fresh  blood  into  every  vein  of  our  young  state, 
and  no  pen  can  dare  even  now  to  predict  the  multitude  of 
benefits  Minnesota  will  continue  to  derive  from  the  fulfillment 
of  the  dreams  of  Carver,  of  Whitney,  and  of  Cooke. 

No  better  illustration  can  be  given  of  the  growth,  muta- 
tions, tribulations,  and  influence  of  a  system  of  transportation 
upon  our  state,  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  history  of  the  old 
"St.  Paul  and  Pacific  railroad."  Its  original  charter  was 
granted  May  22nd,  1857,  to  the  Minnesota  and  Pacific  Kail- 
road  Company.  By  act  of  the  legislature,  March  10th,  1862, 
it  became  the  St.  Paul  and  Pacific.  We  note  how  grandly  each 
of  these  early  titles  uses  the  terminus  "Pacific;"  and  yet  not 
one  person  connected  with  its  early  fortunes  ever  dreamed  of 
its  reaching  the  waters  of  the  western  ocean.  That  was  re- 
served for  a  later  and  more  aggressive  personage.  Subse- 
quently, May  23rd,  1879,  it  became  the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis 
and  Manitoba  railway;  and  finally,  March  10th,  1885,  it  was 
merged  into  a  giant  system,  the  Great  Northern  Railway  Com- 
pany, and  that  which  had  been  provincial  became  continental. 


30  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

When  financial  clouds  lowered  over  this  line,  in  the  era  of 
the  St.  Paul  and  Pacific,  the  mortgages  upon  the  property 
were  foreclosed,  and,  the  entire  property  passed  into  the  hands 
of  a  remarkable  syndicate,  in  whose  control  it  became  the 
St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Manitoba,  and  under  their  power- 
ful sway,  its  destinies  were  wholly  changed.  The  syndicate 
making  the  purchase  were  James  J.  Hill,  George  Stephen  (now 
Lord  Mount-Stephen),  Donald  A.  Smith  (now  Sir  Donald  A. 
Smith,  Lord  Strathcona  and  Mount  Koyal),  and  Norman  W. 
Kittson. 

On  the  10th  day  of  July,  1856,  there  came  to  this  territory 
from  out  of  the  woods  of  Canada,  a  young,  unknown,  black- 
eyed  and  black-haired  lad,  seeking  fortune  beneath  Minne- 
sota's propitious  skies.  That  young  man  has  had  a  greater 
influence  upon  the  history  of  transportation  in  this  state  than 
any  other  person.  His  name  is  James  J.  Hill.  He  has  wit- 
nessed and  promoted  the  extraordinary  development  from  the 
old  system  of  transportation,  in  the  era  of  Kittson,  or  of 
Blakeley,  to  the  most  modern  railway.  He  has  been  boldly 
aggressive,  continuously  pounding  away  at  the  one  purpose 
of  achieving  great  results  in  the  ever  expanding  problem  of 
better  transportation.  During  the  five  years  when  I  was  rail- 
way commissioner  of  the  state,  from  1882  to  1887,  he  prac- 
tically rebuilt  all  the  old  lines  of  the  Great  Northern  system 
in  Minnesota.  He  improved  the  curves  and  established  new 
gradients.  The  wooden  trestles  became  roadways  of  earth 
and  stone,  and  the  old  bridges  steel.  He  made  a  standard 
system,  where  he  found  a  temporary  one.  He  found  iron  rails, 
and  changed  them  to  steel.  The  lines  and  spurs  of  his  sys- 
tem penetrate  every  great  grain  district  of  our  state.  Cast 
your  eyes  upon  our  railway  map,  and  see  how  its  lines  cross 
and  recross,  how  they  ramify  and  spur  into  every  part  of  the 
territory  they  seek  to  serve.  Four  times  within  a  hundred 
miles,  distinct  lines  of  this  system  cross  the  international 
boundary  to  the  Canadian  side,  and  they  have  thrown  their 
bands  of  steel  all  over  the  Dakotas.  They  have  brought  many 
thousands  of  immigrants,  and  have  added  new  counties  to  this 
state,  new  towns  and  cities,  new  wealth.  Mr.  Hill  found 
freight  rates  about  three  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  and  he  has  re- 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  31 

duced  them  to  about  one  cent.  His  system  lias  been  essentially 
a  Minnesota  system.  It  has  entered  vitally  into  the  building 
of  our  great  commonwealth.  With  increasing  prosperity,  and 
without  land  grants  or  government  subsidies,  he  has  extended 
this  railway  to  the  waters  of  Puget  sound,  opening  an  im- 
perial highway  across  the  continent  in  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecy  of  its  earlier  names. 

His  energy  has  wrought  out  one  of  the  most  instructive 
stories  of  human  achievement.  Hostile  criticism  falls  harm- 
less before  such  a  career  of  unvarying  success.  Mr.  Hill  has 
fought  his  way  into  the  anointed  family  of  great  men,  and 
there  is  where  history  will  leave  him.  This  railway  system, 
of  which  he  has  been  the  head,,  has  achieved  for  us  the  most 
wonderful  results,  having  created  an  empire  by  the  services 
it  has  rendered,  which  will  be  an  enduring  monument  of  what 
a  single  system  of  transportation  can  do,  when  loyally  and 
energetically  directed  to  the  welfare  of  the  state. 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  linger  and  recount  what  other  great 
railway  systems  have  done  for  the  state,  such  as  the  Chicago 
and  Northwestern,  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St  Paul,  and 
others,  but  time  will  not  admit. 

We  have  twenty-four  distinct  railway  systems  within  our 
state,  aggregating  6,086  miles,  not  including  sidetracks  and 
yard  facilities.  Thirty-six  years  ago  we  did  not  possess  one 
mile.  Minnesota  has  about  one  mile  of  railway  to  every  13 J 
square  miles  of  teritory;  Iowa,  one  to  every  10;  Wisconsin, 
one  to  17;  Kansas,  one  to  23.  If  we  consider  population  as 
well  as  territory,  we  are  about  as  well  served  as  Massachu- 
setts, or  any  of  the  older  states.  Such  means  of  transporta- 
tion and  communication  were  never  before  the  good  fortune 
of  any  people.  The  elements  inciting  railway  construction  are 
still  at  work.  Eailways  beget  railways,  and  the  end  is  not 
yet. 

The  twenty-four  systems  moved,  within  our  state,  in  1896, 
no  less  than  62,000,000  tons  of  freight,  and  carried  over  31,- 
000,000  passengers.  We  are  actually  startled  at  such  figures, 
but  they  are  official  facts.  The  power  of  some  of  the  com- 
panies is  severely  taxed  to  handle  the  traffic.  The  volume  of 
railroad  business  is  a  good  barometer  of  trade,  and  official 


32  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

tables  show  that  ours  is  constantly  on  the  increase.  With 
these  facts  before  us,  we  can  see  that  the  days  of  Red  river 
carts,  stage  coaches,  and  prairie  schooners,  are  past  And 
even  our  rivers,  as  a  squeezed  orange,  are  quite  thrown  aside. 
As  if  by  magic,  our  state  has  been  tranformed  into  a  checker- 
board of  steel  bars,  bringing  modern  transportation  to  the 
very  doors  of  our  people. 

The  colossal  character  of  the  grain  movements  in  Minne- 
sota are  so  stupendous  that  few  persons  have  an  adequate 
knowledge  of  their  extent.  I  give  you  figures  never  before 
summarized  for  the  public.  The  number  of  bushels  of  grain 
moved  on  Minnesota  lines  during  the  year  1897  was  185,704,- 
130,  being  255,540  carloads.  The  average  cost  per  ton  per 
mile,  to  move  the  same,  was  1|  cents.  The  average  freight 
on  wheat  and  corn  from  Duluth  to  Buffalo,  in  1897,  was  1.9 
cents  per  bushel;  in  1886,  it  was  5.2  cents;  and  in  1872, 
12  cents.  The  average  cost  for  freight,  insurance,  elevator 
charges,  commission,  and  all  other  incidental  charges  on  wheat 
from  Duluth  to  London,  in  1897,  was  13J  cents.  You  could 
not  procure  the  carriage  of  a  single  bushel  of  wheat  from  the 
capitol  to  the  union  depot,  in  this  city,  for  less  than  25  cents! 
Nothing  has  more  specifically  and  materially  affected  our 
transportation  problem  than  the  constant  and  extraordinary 
reduction  of  tariff  rates.  No  other  necessity  of  human  life 
has  been  more  regularly  and  certainly  cheapened  to  the  people 
than  the  transporting  of  their  persons  and  property.  It  is 
not  only  betterments  and  cheaper  material  that  cheapen  trans- 
portation, but  the  ever  swelling  volume  of  trade.  It  is  the 
only  thing  known  to  me  of  which  it  can  be  said  that,  the  more 
you  feed  it,  the  less  it  gets. 

We  have  come  through  experience,  and  a  system  of  evolu- 
tion, to  a  better  understanding  of  the  laws  which  govern  trans- 
portation. Governmental  regulations  should  be  few  and 
simple,  and  strictly  in  accord  with  commercial  and  natural 
conditions.  Every  rate  that  is  made  to-day  is  made  by  in- 
fluences beyond  the  control  of  the  carrier.  You  cannot  put 
railroads  in  straight  jackets.  Within  reasonable  restrictions, 
they  should  be  left  free,  like  other  business,  to  the  operations 
of  competition. 


HISTORY  OF  TRANSPORTATION  IN  MINNESOTA.  33 

SUMMARY  REVIEW. 

Thus  have  I  attempted  to  present  to  you  the  more  salient 
features  of  the  rise  and  growth  of  our  varied  systems  of  trans- 
portation, that  mighty  factor  of  our  civilization.    We  have 
ascended  the  stream  of  time  to  the  tumuli  of  the  unknown 
dead.    We  have  carried  copper  with  them,  in  nameless  boats, 
through  lakelet  and  river.    We  have  paddled  in  the  birch 
canoe  of  the  historic  Indian.     We  have  seen  strange  fleets  of 
early  craft,  loaded  with  pelts,  stealing  beneath  the  beetling 
rocks  of  our  great  lake,  at  the  very  twilight  dawn  of  our  story. 
We  have  stood  with  Le  Sueur,  on  the  deck  of  his  felucca,  as 
he  ascended  our  rivers  two  centuries  ago.    We  have  beheld 
the  lordly  fur  companies  as  they  strode  upon  the  scene,  carry- 
ing their  transportation  to  the  far  off  Great  Slave  lake,  a  region 
so  distant  that  we  ourselves  have  not  yet  dared  to  invade  it. 
We  have  been  with  the  scholarly  Schoolcraft,  in  1820,  as  he 
proudly  waved  his  hand  to  the  advent  of  his  country's  flag 
and  vessels  when  they  first  made  entry  to  the  waters  of  the 
"unsalted  sea.'7    We  have  stood,  with  the  early  immigrants, 
on  the  decks  of  the  first  steamboats   which   ascended  our 
streams.    We  have  been  with  Kittson  and  heard  the  screech- 
ing of  the  greaseless  wheels  of  a  wonderful  commerce  that 
arose  in  the  far  North.    We  have  travelled  by  dog  sledges 
amid  the  solitude  of  snows.    We  have  welcomed,  with  Ed- 
mund Rice,  the  scepter  of  a  new  king  in  that  wonderful  horse 
whose  sinews  are  steel,  and  whose  breath  is  steam,  and  have 
listened  to  the  far  echoes  of  his  shrill  whistle  over  our  prairies, 
as  it  proclaimed  the  death  of  the  old  carriers  and  the  birth 
of  the  new.    We  have  beheld  our  railways  rivet  their  bracelets 
of  steel  all  over  the  bosom  of  our  commonwealth,  till  every 
hamlet  is  served  with  highways  better  than  Rome  under  the 
empire  of  the  Caesars  ever  dreamed  of  possessing.    But,  not 
content  with  granting  superb  facilities  within  our  own  limits, 
we  have  seen  our  aggressive  men  of  affairs  pick  up  the  ends 
of  the  steel  ribbons,  pass  beyond  the  barriers  of  the  state,  and 
carry  them  across  a  continent  to  the  waters  of  the  Pacific. 

We  are  pleased  to  remember,  this  day,  that  this  admirable 
system  of  transportation  rests  upon  a  base  of  inexhaustible 


34  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

resources.  We  offer  no  Klondike,  with  specious  gates  of  gold, 
amid  pillars  of  ice,  but  that  which  is  a  thousand  times  better 
for  morality  and  stability.  Our  resources  challenge  all  that 
is  good  in  the  genius  and  energy  of  our  sons.  Over  every 
square  mile  of  our  commonwealth,  nature  has  spread  her 
prodigal  garniture  with  a  princely  hand.  Ceres  pours  over  us 
her  wealth  from  the  horn  of  plenty.  But  turn  our  soil  and 
plant,  and  God's  sun  will  kiss  it  into  wealth.  Only  the  volun- 
tarily idle  can  be  disinherited  in  Minnesota. 

Possessing  all  these  enriching  conditions,  even  with  but  a 
respectable  government  and  only  a  moderate  race  of  states- 
men, our  splendid  body  of  business  men  will  still  carry  our 
state  forward  to  a  superb  destiny.  When  we  consider  that  the 
greater  and  better  part  of  all  this  has  been  wrought  during 
the  span  of  a  single  human  life,  we  behold  a  miracle  of  per- 
formance, in  which  most  of  you  were  the  living  actors.  Itfever 
again  will  life  present  the  same  magnificent  drama  of  events 
as  the  panorama  you  have  witnessed. 

In  surveying  it  all,  I  feel  that,  as  the  wise  men  of  the 
East  followed  that  star  which  came  and  stood  over  the  place 
where  the  infant  Savior  was  born,  so  we,  impelled  by  some 
good  Providence,  followed  the  Star  of  the  North,  till  it  stood 
above  a  virgin  empire  of  undeveloped  wTealth,  which  was  for 
us,  and  for  our  children,  the  promised  land. 


Minnesota  Historical  Society,  Vol.  IX. 


Plate  I. 


MAP  OF  THE  SAN  JUAN  ARCHIPELAGO. 


HOW  WE  WON  THE  SAN  JUAN  ARCHIPELAGO.* 


BY  GENERAL  EDWIN  C.  MASON. 


I  propose  to  relate  some  incidents,  not  generally  known  to 
the  public,  in  the  final  settlement  of  the  Northwest  Boundary 
between  the  United  States  and  the  British  Possessions. 

Part  of  my  information  is  derived  from  the  records  of  the 
War  Department,  but  chiefly  from  conversations  with  actors 
in  the  scene.  For  many  years  I  was  the  Inspector  General 
of  the  Military  Department  of  the  Columbia,  which  includes 
within  its  boundaries  the  Puget  Sound  region,  where  the  diffi- 
culties occurred.  My  duties  required  me  to  make  frequent 
visits  to  San  Juan  island  during  the  period  of  the  joint  occupa- 
tion, and  I  became  interested  in  this  bit  of  American  history 
because  we  were  never  nearer  a  war  with  England  than  at 
that  time.  The  story  I  shall  tell  brings  out  one  feature  in  the 
training  of  the  American  professional  soldier.  He  is  taught 
that  every  means  for  the  peaceable  settlement  of  a  difficulty 
should  be  tried  before  force  is  used,  but  that  there  must  be  at 
the  same  time  no  surrender  of  the  rights  and  dignity  of  the 
nation.  The  patience  and  forbearance  of  our  trained  army 
and  naval  officers  has  saved  our  country  from  bloodshed  and 
loss  of  treasure,  in  more  than  one  difficulty  with  foreign  pow- 
ers, with  the  Indians  on  our  plains,  and  the  lawless  mobs  in 
our  cities.  In  the  San  Juan  affair  General  Winfield  Scott  won 
the  title  of  "The  Great  Pacificator."  His  countrymen  did  well 
in  bestowing  upon  him  this  title,  for  his  pacific  course  on  that 
occasion  saved  us  from  war. 


,     '^  at  Jhe  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,   November    9, 
1896.    General  Mason  died  April  30,  1898. 


36  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Every  student  of  American  history  knows  that  the  cry 
"54.40  or  fight"  was  sufficient  at  one  time  to  rouse  the  spirit 
of  the  American  people  against  what  were  considered  the  un- 
just demands  of  Great  Britain  in  the  matter  of  the  boundary 
line  between  the  United  States  and  her  Majesty's  possessions 
in  the  Northwest. 

The  Hudson  Bay  Company  claimed  what  is  now  Washing- 
ton and  Oregon  down  to  the  California  line.  It  was  unrea- 
sonable; not  so  the  American  claim  to  territory  above  the 
49th  parallel  of  latitude. 

The  treaty  of  Washington,  June  15th,  1846,  fixed  the 
boundary  line  on  that  parallel.  The  treaty  reads :  "Along  the 
said  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude  to  the  middle  of  the 
channel  which  separates  the  continent  from  Vancouver's  Isl- 
and; and  thence  southerly  through  the  middle  of  the  said 
channel,  and  of  Fuca's  Straits,  to  the  Pacific  ocean."  The 
vagueness  and  uncertainty  of  the  wording  of  this  section  led 
to  the  subsequent  difficulties.  The  value,  and  the  commercial 
and  military  importance,  of  the  San  Juan  archipelago  were 
not  appreciated  by  the  distinguished  gentlemen  who  nego- 
tiated the  treaty.  A  glance  at  an  atlas  in  use  in  1846  will 
show  how  little  was  really  known  of  the  vast  region  north- 
west from  the  junction  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  to  the 
Pacific  ocean.  But  if  the  statesmen  of  Washington  and  Lon- 
don did  not  appreciate  the  value  of  the  group  of  islands  sepa- 
rating the  waters  of  the  Bay  of  Georgia  from  Puget  sound, 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  did.  This  powerful  and  influential 
corporation,  created  in  1670  by  Charles  the  Second  of  England, 
was  invested  with  the  absolute  proprietorship,  subordinate 
sovereignty,  and  exclusive  traffic,  over  an  undefined  territory 
which,  under  the  name  of  Kupert's  Land,  comprised  all  the 
regions  discovered,  or  to  be  discovered,  within  the  entrance 
of  Hudson  bay. 

Pushing  westward,  by  1770  the  company  had  reached  the 
Pacific,  and  buying  up  or  coalescing  with  rival  companies, 
French  and  English,  and  claiming  jurisdiction  through  75  de- 
grees of  longitude,  from  Davis'  Strait  to  Mount  St  Elias,  and 
through  28  degrees  of  latitude,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mac- 


HOW  WE  WON  THE  SAN  JUAN  ARCHIPELAGO.  37 

kenzie  to  the  borders  of  California,  it  virtually  ruled  the  west- 
ern world  north  of  the  undisputed  territory  of  the  United 
States.  The  cession  of  Oregon  and  the  fixing  of  the  boundary 
line  on  the  49th  parallel  destroyed  of  course  the  rights  of  the 
company  south  of  that  line. 

At  the  time  when  this  story  begins  the  headquarters  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  were  established  at  Victoria  on 
Vancouver  island,  and  Sir  James  Douglas,  C.  B.,  was  gov- 
ernor and  commander  in  chief  in  and  over  Vancouver  island 
and  its  dependencies,  as  well  as  chief  factor  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company. 

A  glance  at  the  map  (plate  I)  will  show  five  channels  for 
the  passage  of  vessels.  Of  these  the  Rosario  straits  to  the 
eastward  and  the  Canal  de  Haro  to  the  westward  were  alone 
in  controversy. 

I  have  said  that  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  appreciated  the 
value  of  the  archipelago,  and  was  not  slow  in  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  doubtful  wording  of  the  treaty  and  assuming  con- 
trol of  the  islands.  The  islands  in  the  group  number  nineteen 
and  contain  about  200  square  miles.  They  vary  in  size,  from 
a  few  acres,  to  San  Juan,  which  is  about  fifteen  miles  long 
and  from  three  to  six  miles  wide,  comprising  some  60  square 
miles.  The  climate  of  the  region  is  very  mild  and  humid,  thus 
offering  special  advantages  for  sheep  raising  and  the  cultiva- 
tion of  fruits,  flowers,  and  vegetables.  The  strategic  advan- 
tage of  the  group  is  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer. 
The  power  that  holds  these  islands,  controls  the  waters  of 
Puget  Sound  and  the  vast  waterways  to  the  northward.  The 
great  coal  fields  of  Nanaimo  and  other  points  in  British  Co- 
lumbia are  only  accessible  through  the  channels  of  this  group; 
and  indeed  British  Columbia  is  dominated  by  the  power  that 
holds  with  a  military  and  naval  force  the  islands  and  their 
navigable  channels. 

The  foreign  policy  of  England  in  regard  to  her  territorial 
claims  commends  itself  to  a  military  man  by  its  promptness 
and  certainty.  She  generally  acts  first  and  talks  afterward. 
In  this  case  she  assumed  at  once  that  the  Rosario  strait  was 
the  boundary  line  and  acted  on  this  assumption  by  directing 


38  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

British  magistrates  to  exercise  civil  jurisdiction  throughout 
the  group.  Before  the  days  of  the  telegraph  or  the  transcon- 
tinental railway,  news  from  the  far  west  traveled  slowly,  and 
it  was  some  time  before  the  government  at  Washington  awoke 
to  the  condition  of  affairs. 

Under  date  of  July  14th,  1855,  Mr.  Marcy,  Secretary  of 
State,  wrote  to  Governor  Stevens  of  Washington  Territory  vis 
follows:  "He  [President  Pierce]  has  instructed  me  to  say  to 
you,  that  the  officers  of  the  territory  should  abstain  from  ah 
acts  on  the  disputed  grounds  which  are  calculated  to  provoke 
any  conflicts,  so  far  as  it  can  be  done  without  implying  the 
concession  to  the  authority  of  Great  Britain  of  an  exclusive 
right  over  the  premises.  The  title  ought  to  be  settled  before 
either  party  should  exclude  the  other  by  force,  or  exercise 
complete  and  exclusive  sovereign  right  within  the  fairly  dis- 
puted limits " 

On  the  17th  of  July,  Mr.  Marcy  wrote  to  Mr.  Orampton,  the 
British  minister,  informing  him  of  the  letter  to  the  governor 
of  Washington  Territory  and  expressing  the  hope  that  all  col- 
lision may  be  avoided.  The  Americans  who  had  settled  on 
San  Juan  island  were  restless  under  the  anomalous  condition 
of  affairs,  and  it  was  certain  that  difficulty  would  sooner  or 
later  occur. 

A  humble  and  generally  inoffensive  pig  was  the  innocent 
cause  of  a  disturbance  that  came  nearer  to  bringing  on  a  war 
between  England  and  America  than  any  event  since  1812. 

One  day  in  June,  1859,  an  American  by  the  name  of  Lyman 
A.  Cutler  shot  and  killed  a  pig  that  was  the  property  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company.  This  pig  had  been  found  damaging 
the  field  or  garden  of  Cutler,  whose  request  to  the  person  in 
charge  to  have  the  pig  confined  was  treated  with  contempt. 
Provoked  by  this,  Cutler  shot  the  animal.  He  afterward  of- 
fered money  in  payment  to  twice  its  value,  which  was  refused. 
The  next  day  the  British  ship  of  war  Satellite,  with  a  Mr. 
Dallas,  a  factor  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  aboard,  visited 
the  island.  Mr.  Dallas  threatened  to  take  the  American  by 
force  to  Victoria  for  trial.  Cutler  resisted,  and,  arming  him- 
self, threatened  to  shoot  anyone  who  would  attempt  his  arrest. 
The  arrest  was  not  made. 


HOW  WE  WON  THE  SAN  JUAN  ARCHIPELAGO.        39 

General  W.  S.  Harney  commanded  at  that  time  the  De- 
partment of  Oregon,  with  headquarters  at  Fort  Vancouver  on 
the  Columbia  river.  These  matters  came  to  his  ears  through 
a  petition  from  the  Americans  of  San  Juan  island  for  protec- 
tion. In  making  his  report  to  Washington  the  general  says: 
"To  attempt  to  take  by  an  armed  force  an  American  citizen 
from  our  soil  to  be  tried  by  British  law,  is  an  insult  to  our 
flag  and  an  outrage  upon  the  rights  of  our  people  that  has 
roused  them  to  a  high  state  of  indignation.  It  will  be  well 
for  the  British  Government  to  know  the  American  people  on 
this  coast  will  never  sanction  any  claim  they  may  assert  to 
any  other  islands  in  Puget  Sound  than  that  of  Vancouver, 
south  of  the  49th  parallel  and  east  of  the  Canal  de  Haro.  Any 
attempt  at  possession  by  them  will  be  followed  by  a  collision." 

Without  waiting  for  instructions  from  Washington,  which 
would  have  taken  thirty  days  by  pony  express  across  the  con- 
tinent, or  sixty  by  steamer  via  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  Gen- 
eral Harney  took  prompt  action  on  the  petition  of  the  Ameri- 
cans for  protection,  and  immediately  ordered  Capt  George  E. 
Pickett,  of  the  9th  Infantry,  to  proceed  at  once  from  Fort  Bell- 
ingham  to  San  Juan  island  and  take  station  with  his  company 
D  of  the  9th  Infantry.  His  orders  provided  for  the  protection 
of  the  people  from  the  northern  Indians  of  British  Columbia 
and  the  Bussian  possessions  (now  our  Alaska);  he  was  also 
informed  that  another  serious  and  important  duty  would  de- 
volve upon  him  in  the  occupation  of  the  islands,  arising  from 
the  conflicting  interests  of  the  American  citizens  and  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company.  He  was  informed  that  it  would  be  his 
duty  to  afford  adequate  protection  to  the  American  citizens  in 
their  rights  as  such,  and  to  resist  all  attempts  at  interference 
by  the  British  authorities  residing  on  Vancouver  island,  by 
intimidation  or  force,  in  the  controversies  of  the  above  men- 
tioned parties.  General  Harney  goes  on  to  say  that  protection 
has  been  called  for  in  consequence  of  the  action  of  the  chief 
factor  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  Mr.  Dallas,  in  having  re- 
cently visited  San  Juan  island  with  a  British  sloop  of  war  and 
threatened  to  take  an  American  citizen  by  force  to  Victoria 
for  trial  by  British  laws.    "It  is  hoped  a  second  attempt  of 


.  40  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

this  kind  will  not  be  made;  but  to  insure  the  safety  of  our 
citizens  the  general  commanding  directs  you  to  meet  the  au- 
thorities from  Victoria  at  once,  on  a  second  arrival,  and  in- 
form them  they  cannot  be  permitted  to  interfere  with  our  citi- 
zens in  any  way.  Any  grievances  they  may  allege  as  requir- 
ing redress  can  only  be  examined  under  our  own  laws,  to 
which  they  must  submit  their  claims  in  proper  form." 

Captain  Pickett  was  a  brave  and  gallant  officer,  cool,  and 
of  excellent  judgment.  He  was  a  southern  man  and  on  the 
outbreak  of  the  rebellion,  two  years  after  these  events,  re- 
signed his  commission  in  the  United  States  Army  and  took 
service  with  the  Confederacy.  He  rose  to  high  rank  in  the 
southern  army,  and  commanded  the  Confederate  troops  in  that 
justly  famous  charge  on  Cemetery  Eidge  at  Gettysburg.  That 
3d  day  of  July,  1863,  when  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Gen- 
eral Lee  made  his  supreme  effort  to  retrieve  the  fortunes  of 
the  day,  and  launched  a  grand  assault  upon  the  Union  center 
along  Cemetery  Eidge,  George  Pickett's  division  was  probably 
the  most  distinguished  in  that  splendid  army  of  northern  Vir- 
ginia for  discipline  and  valor.  It  was  composed  of  fifteen  Vir- 
ginia regiments,  the  very  flower  of  southern  chivalry.  The 
bold,  determined  and  enterprising  spirit  he  had  manifested 
in  Indian  scouts  and  campaigns  on  the  frontier,  where  he  had 
been  ordered  immediately  after  graduating  from  the  Military 
Academy,  fitted  him  for  dealing  with  the  emergency  that  had 
been  precipitated  by  the  action  of  the  British  authorities.  It 
was  his  fine  soldierly  qualities,  developed  by  active  service  on 
the  frontier,  that  made  him  one  of  General  Lee's  trusted  lieu- 
tenants. 

But  to  return  to  my  subject.  Captain  Pickett  did  not  wait 
for  the  quartermaster's  transport  steamer  to  come  out  of  Pu- 
get  sound  and  move  his  company  and  stores,  for  he  had  heard 
that  a  British  man-of-war  was  maneuvering  about  the  island, 
and,  appreciating  the  importance  of  gaining  a  foothold  on  San 
Juan  unmolested,  he  shipped  his  men  with  their  stores  and 
supplies  on  a  fishing  schooner,  and  quietly  sailed  away  from 
Fort  Bellingham  in  the  night,  passing  Lummi  island  into 
Eosario   strait,   and   through   the  narrow   channel   between 


HOW  "WE  WON  THE  SAN  JUAN  ARCHIPELAGO.  41 

Blakely  and  Oreas  islands  into  Upright  channel,  passing  be- 
tween Shaw  and  Lopez,  and  before  daylight  cast  anchor  oil'  a 
smooth  gravelly  beach  in.  Griffin  bay. 

A  thick  fog  shrouded  his  movements  from  observation  and 
he  effected  his  landing  without  being  seen  and  without  oppo- 
sition, if  any  was  intended.  When  the  morning  sun  scattered 
the  fog,  the  astonished  British  seamen,  from  the  decks  of  their 
men-of-war  lying  outside  San  Juan,  saw  a  few  white  tents 
pitched  on  the  ridge  that  extends  along  the  middle  of  the 
island,  and  over  them,  on  a  flagstaff  brought  for  the  purpose, 
the  United  States  flag  dancing  in  the  summer  breeze. 

If  you  were  to  visit  the  island  now,  you  would  find,  after 
landing  in  Griffin  bay,  the  ground  sloping  gently  upward  from 
the  water's  edge  until  after  about  a  mile  it  culminates  in  quite 
a  ridge,  highest  where  Pickett  pitched  his  camp.  Standing  on 
the  ruins  of  the  little  earthwork  at  that  point,  you  command 
a  fine  and  extensive  view  of  both  sides  of  the  island,  and  of 
the  bays,  channels,  and  inlets,  that  separate  the  islands  of  the 
archipelago.  The  ground  sloping  away  in  all  directions,  you 
would  see  to  the  north  and  west  the  waters  of  the  Canal  de 
Haro  and  Vancouver's  island  beyond;  southward,  the  broad 
sweep  of  the  waters  of  the  strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  extending  as 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach  toward  the  Pacific  ocean;  and  east- 
ward and  northeastward,  the  waters  of  Bosario  straits  and 
the  chief  islands  of  the  group. 

The  defensive  position  selected  by  Pickett  was  an  excel- 
lent one  and  gave  him  complete  command,  in  every  direction, 
of  the  approaches  to  his  fort.  The  fort  he  afterwards  built 
had  a  profile  only  on  the  south,  east  and  west  sides,  the  top 
of  the  parapet  on  the  north  merging  there  into  the  general 
level  of  the  ridge. 

The  action  of  that  prompt  old  soldier,  General  Harney,  in 
sending  Captain  Pickett  to  take  military  possession  of  San 
Juan  did  not  meet  the  full  approval  of  the  President.  Under 
date  of  September  3d,  1859,  the  Acting  Secretary  of  War  in- 
formed him:  "The  President  [Mr.  Buchanan]  was  not  pre- 
pared to  learn  that  you  had  ordered  military  possession  to 
be  taken  of  the  island  of  San  Juan  or  Bellevue.    Although  he 


42  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

believes  the  Straits  of  Haro  to  be  the  true  boundary  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  under  the  treaty  of  June 
15,  1846,  and  that,  consequently,  this  island  belongs  to  us,  yet 
he  had  not  anticipated  that  so  decided  a  step  would  have  been 
resorted  to  without  instructions."  But  he  further  adds,  "If 
you  had  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  colonial  authorities 
of  Great  Britain  were  about  to  disturb  the  status,  by  taking 
possession  of  the  island  and  assuming  jurisdiction  over  it,  you 
were  in  the  right  to  anticipate  their  action." 

Immediately  upon  its  being  known  that  Captain  Pickett 
had  landed  on  the  island,  the  Hudson  Bay  Agent  sent  him  the 
following  note: 

Bellevue  Farm,  San  Juan  Island,  July  30,  1859. 
Sir,— I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  island  of  San  Juan, 
on  which  your  camp  is  pitched,  is  the  property  and  in  the  occupation 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  to  request  that  you,  and  the  whole 
of  the  party  who  have  landed  from  the  American  vessels,  will  imme- 
diately cease  to  occupy  the  same.  Should  you  be  unwilling  to  comply 
with  my  request,  I  feel  bound  to  apply  to  the  civil  authorities.  Awai1> 
ing  your  reply,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHAS.  JNO.  GRIFFIN, 
Agent,  Hudson  Bay  Company. 

Whatever  doubts  may  have  existed  in  Washington  in  re- 
gard to  the  attitude  of  the  British  government  in  regard  to  the 
ownership  of  these  islands,  this  letter  and  the  proclamation 
of  Governor  Douglas,  issued  at  once  on  the  2nd  day  of  August, 
make  it  plain  that  nothing  less  than  the  sovereignty  of  the 
archipelago  was  claimed.  The  proclamation  reads:  "The  sov- 
ereignty of  the  Island  of  San  Juan,  and  of  the  whole  of  the 
Haro  Archipelago  has  always  undeviatingly  claimed  to  be  in 
the  crown  of  Great  Britain.  Therefore,  I,  James  Douglas,  do 
hereby  formally  and  solemnly  protest  against  the  occupation 
of  the  said  island,  or  any  part  of  the  said  archipelago,  by  any 
person  whatsoever,  for  or  on  behalf  of  any  other  power,  here- 
by protesting  and  declaring  that  the  sovereignty  thereof  by 
right  now  is,  and  always  hath  been,  in  her  Majesty  Queen 
Victoria,  and  her  predecessors,  kings  of  Great  Britain." 

Captain  Pickett's  answer  to  the  letter  of  Agent  Griffin  is 
as  follows: 


HOW  WE  WON  THE  SAN  JUAN  ARCHIPELAGO.  43 

Military  Camp,  San  Juan,  W.  T.,  July  30,  1859. 
Sir,— Your  communication  of  this  instant  is  received.  I  have  to 
state  in  reply  that  I  do  not  acknowledge  the  right  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  to  dictate  my  course  of  action.  I  am  here  by  virtue  of  an 
order  from  my  government,  and  shall  remain  until  recalled  by  the  same 
authority.    I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

GEORGE  E.  PICKETT, 
Captain,  9th  U.  S.  Infantry,  Commanding. 

Governor  Douglas  lost  no  time  in  assembling  a  fleet  to  en- 
force his  proclamation,  and  on  the  next  day  after  it  was  issued, 
August  3rd,  at  10  p.  m.,  Captain  Pickett  wrote  a  dispatch  to 
General  Harney,  stating  that  three  British  war  ships,  the 
Tribune,  the  Plumper,  and  the  Satellite,  were  lying  off  his 
camp  in  a  menacing  attitude.  He  then  gave  the  substance  of 
the  interviews  held  during  the  day  with  the  captains  of  these 
ships.  Captain  Hornby,  the  senior  officer  of  the  fleet,  urged 
Captain  Pickett  to  retire,  or  to  consent  to  a  joint  military  occu- 
pation until  replies  could  be  received  from  their  respective 
governments,  and  proposed  that  during  such  time  the  com- 
manding officers  of  the  forces  should  control  and  adjudicate 
between  their  respective  countrymen. 

Captain  Pickett  requested  Capt.  Hornby,  commanding  the 
British  fleet,  to  submit  his  proposition  in  writing,  and  said  he 
would  transmit  it  to  General  Harney,  his  superior  and  com- 
manding officer.  This  was  done  and  in  a  few  days  the  Adju- 
tant General  of  the  Department  replied:  "The  General  ap- 
proves the  course  you  have  pursued  and  further  directs  that 
no  joint  occupation  or  any  civil  jurisdiction  will  be  permitted 
on  San  Juan  island  by  the  British  authorities  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. Lieut.  Colonel  Casey  is  ordered  to  reinforce  you 
without  delay." 

Lieut.  Colonel  Silas  Casey  proceeded  with  his  command 
on  the  steamer  Julia  from  Fort  Steilacoom  and  Port  Town- 
send;  he  had  with  him  companies  A,  C,  and  I,  4th  Infantry, 
and  H,  9th  Infantry,  together  203  men,  and  companies  A,  B, 
D,  and  M,  3rd  Artillery,  181  men.  Most  fortunately  he  too 
made  the  trip  in  a  thick  fog  and  landed  on  the  island  under 
the  guns  of  the  British  fleet  and  without  the  knowledge  of  the 


44  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

British  officers.  The  fortunate  circumstance  of  the  fog  doubt- 
less prevented  at  this  time  the  commencement  of  hostilities, 
for  the  British  frigate  Tribune  was  cruising  off  the  landing, 
and  her  orders  were  to  prevent  Captain  Pickett  from  being  re- 
inforced. The  morning  light  and  the  lifting  fog  showed  the 
American  force  materially  strengthened.  The  chagrin  and 
mortification  of  the  British  captains  were  intense  at  being 
again  outmaneuvered  by  the  American  soldiers. 

Lieut.  Colonel  Casey  was  now  in  command.  Including 
Pickett's  Company  his  force  numbered  461  officers  and  men. 
The  British  fleet,  under  Captain  Hornby,  comprised  three 
ships,  with  62  guns,  and  975  men,  part  being  Royal  Engineers 
and  Marines. 

Captain  Hornby's  orders  from  Governor  Douglas  had  been 
to  force  a  landing  upon  the  island  at  once.  Fortunately  he 
was  a  wiser  man  than  Governor  Douglas,  and  did  not  attempt 
it;  undoubtedly  it  would  have  been  successful,  for  he  had  a 
greatly  superior  force  of  sailors  and  marines,  with  the  guns 
of  his  ships  to  cover  the  movement,  but  he  knew  that  the  at- 
tempt meant  war,  and  wisely  refrained. 

Yery  soon  after  the  landing  of  Colonel  Casey,  Rear  Admiral 
Baynes,  commander  in  chief  of  her  Majesty's  navy  on  the  Pa- 
cific coast,  came  in  from  a  cruise  to  Esquimault,  the  naval  sta- 
tion near  Victoria,  His  flagship,  the  Ganges,  of  84  guns  and 
840  men,  with  her  consort,  the  Pylades,  of  21  guns  and  325 
men,  increased  the  British  fleet  to  five  men-of-war  with  2,140 
men,  seamen  and  marines,  a  very  formidable  force  for  those 
days. 

Colonel  Casey,  hearing  of  the  arrival  of  Admiral  Baynes, 
concluded  to  waive  ceremony  and  pay  that  officer  a  visit.  He 
wrote  to  Captain  Alfred  Pleasanton,  at  Fort  Vancouver,  un- 
der date  of  August  12th,  1859,  that  he  invited  Captain  Hornby 
of  the  British  fleet  to  an  interview,  and,  on  his  arrival  in  the 
camp,  intimated  a  wish  to  have  an  interview  with  the  admiral, 
saying  that  he  would  go  down  to  Esquimault  the  next  day  for 
that  purpose.  The  captain  and  the  British  commissioner  with 
him  seemed  pleased  with  the  suggestion. 


HOW  WE  WON  THE  SAN  JUAN  ARCHIPELAGO.        45 

The  next  day,  accompanied  by  Captain  Pickett  and  by  Mr. 
Campbell,   the   United   States   commissioner,   Colonel   Casey 
went  down  to  Esquimault  on  the  steamer  Shubrick.     He  an- 
chored near  the   Ganges,  the   British  flagship,  and   sent  to 
the  admiral  a  note  by  an  officer  asking  for  an  interview  on  the 
Shubrick.     The  admiral  declined  the  interview  on  the  Ameri- 
can vessel,  but  stated  he  would  receive  the  gentlemen  on  his 
own  ship.     Colonel  Casey  says:  "I  was  of  opinion  that  I  had 
carried  etiquette  far  enough  in  going  twenty-five  miles  to  see 
a  gentleman  who  was  disinclined  to  come  one  hundred  yards  to 
see  me.    The  proposition  which  I  intended  to  have  made  the 
admiral  was  this :     .                     that  in  case  he,  the  -admiral, 
would  pass  his  word  on  honor  that  no  threats  should  be  made, 
or  molestation  given,  by  the  force  under  his  command,  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  Captain  Pickett  from  carrying  out  the 
orders  and  instructions  with  which  he  is  intrusted,  I  would 
recommend  to  the  commanding  general  the  withdrawal  of  the 
reinforcement  which  had  landed  on  the  island  under  my  com- 
mand, and  that  affairs  should  so  remain  until  the  sovereign 
authorities  should  announce  their  intentions."     He  closed  his 
dispatch  by  saying:  "I  have  so  far  had  no  further  intercourse 
with  any  of  the  officers  of  the  fleet The  Brit- 
ish have  a  sufficient  naval  force  here  to  effectually  blockade 
this  island  when  they  choose.     I  don't  know  what  the  inten- 
tions of   the   British   naval    authorities  with  respect  to  this 
island  are.     I  shall  resist  any  attack  they  may  make  upon  my 
position." 

Colonel  Casey's  attempt  to  avoid  a  hostile  collision  between 
the  forces  of  two  friendly  nations  was  well  meant,  but  to  visit 
a  foreign  port  in  an  armed  vessel  and  seek  an  interview  with 
a  flag  officer  under  the  circumstances  was  an  extraordinary 
step  to  take,  and  it  was  promptly  disapproved  by  his  military 
superiors.    It  was  a  case  where  zeal  outran  discretion. 

Although  Admiral  Baynes  would  not  meet  Colonel  Casey 
in  the  informal  manner  suggested  by  that  officer,  he  did  a  wise 
thing  in  immediately  countermanding  Governor  Douglas's 
warlike  and  menacing  orders  to  force  a  landing.  This  judi- 
cious action  immediately  relieved  the  strain  and  both  parties 


46  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

tacitly  agreed  to  await  further  instructions  from  their  govern- 
ments. 

By  this  time  the  news  of  what  had  occurred  had  reached 
Washington,  and  the  President,  seeing  that  some  decisive 
steps  must  be  taken  to  prevent  collision  between  the  forces 
thus  brought  face  to  face  on  a  question  of  national  rights,  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  sending  the  Commander  in  Chief  of  the 
Army  to  the  scene  of  difficulty  with  full  powers  to  act  as  the 
emergency  might  require. 

Under  date  of  September  16th,  1859,  the  Secretary  of  War 
wrote  to  General  Winfield  Scott: 

"Sir, — The  President  has  been  much  gratified  at  the  alacrity 
with  which  you  have  responded  to  his  wish  that  you  would 
proceed  to  Washington  Territory  to  assume  the  immediate 
command,  if  necessary,  of  the  United  States  forces  on  the  Pa- 
cific coast."  The  letter  then  goes  on  to  recite  the  situation, 
and  continues:  "It  is  impossible,  at  this  distance  from  the 
scene,  and  in  ignorance  of  what  may  have  already  transpired 
on  the  spot,  to  give  you  positive  instructions  as  to  your  course 
of  action.  Much,  very  much,  must  be  left  to  your  discretion, 
and  the  President  is  happy  to  believe  that  discretion  could  not 
be  entrusted  to  more  competent  hands." 

After  expressing  his  desire  to  preserve  the  peace  and  for 
adjudication  of  the  difficulties  by  the  two  governments,  he 
says:  "It  would  be  desirable  to  provide,  during  the  inter- 
vening period,  for  a  joint  occupation  of  the  island,  under 
such  guards  as  will  secure  its  tranquillity  without  interfer- 
ing with  our  rights.  The  President  perceives  no  objection 
to  the  plan  proposed  by  Captain  Hornby,  of  Her  Majesty's 
ship  Tribune,  to  Captain  Pickett;  it  being  understood  that 
Captain  Pickett's  company  shall  remain  on  the  island  to 
resist,  if  need  be,  the  incursions  of  the  northern  Indians  on 
our  frontier  settlements,  and  to  afford  protection  to  American 
citizens  resident  thereon.  In  any  arrangement  which  may  be 
made  for  joint  occupation,  American  citizens  must  be  placed 
on  a  footing  equally  favorable  with  that  of  British  subjects." 
The  letter  closes  with  the  confident  hope  that,  if  a  collision 
should  occur  before  the  general's  arrival,  he  will  not  suffer  the 
national  honor  to  be  tarnished. 


HOW  WE  WON  THE  SAN  JUAN  ARCHIPELAGO.  47 

General  Scott  sailed  from  New  York  for  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama  a  few  days  after  receiving  his  instructions.  The  pas- 
sage to  Panama,  and  up  the  Pacific  coast  to  San  Francisco,  oc- 
cupied nearly  a  month,  and  a  few  days  more  were  required  for 
the  journey  to  Puget  sound.  So  it  was  October  20th  when  he 
appeared  upon  the  scene.  In  the  meantime  the  status  quo  had 
been  maintained  by  the  American  and  British  troops.  The 
English  ships  cruised  off  the  island,  or  lay  with  their  guns 
bearing  on  the  United  States  camp,  where  the  troops  were 
kept  busy  building  breastworks  and  redoubts,  and  mounting 
guns  taken  from  the  Massachusetts,  an  armed  transport  of  the 
Quartermaster  Department. 

Immediately  upon  his  arrival,  General  Scott  put  himself 
in  communication  with  Governor  Douglas  and  Admiral 
Baynes;  and  after  several  conferences  these  experienced  offi- 
cers entered  into  an  agreement,  afterwards  approved  by  both 
governments,  by  which  a  joint  occupation  of  the  islands  of 
the  archipelago  should  be  maintained  by  the  military  forces 
of  both  governments  until  the  questions  in  dispute  should  be 
finally  settled.  The  agreement  provided:  1st,  that  each  power 
should  maintain  on  the  island  of  San  Juan  a  force  of  not  more 
than  one  hundred  men;  2nd,  that  neither  power  should  exer- 
cise exclusive  jurisdiction;  3rd,  that  all  the  affairs  of  the 
island,  civil  and  military,  should  be  jointly  administered  by 
the  two  commanding  officers;  4th,  that  full  protection  and 
equal  rights  of  person  and  property  were  guaranteed  to  all 
the  people,  both  British  and  American. 

This  agreement  went  into  force  at  once.  Captain  Pickett 
and  his  company  formed  the  United  States  garrison,  which 
was  located  at  the  south  end  of  San  Juan  island,  and  a  de- 
tachment of  the  Boyal  Marines  under  Captain  Bazalgette, 
landing  from  the  British  ships  March  20th,  1860,  took  post  at 
the  north  end  of  the  island.  Colonel  Casey,  with  his  troops, 
had  withdrawn;  and  the  British  fleet  no  longer  threatened  the 
camp  with  its  guns,  but  returned  to  Esquimault  harbor. 

In  the  eastern  United  States,  already  the  mutterings  of  the 
great  storm  of  the  rebellion  were  heard,  and  day  by  day  events 
marched  toward  the  outbreak  in   April,  1861.    Pickett  re- 


48  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

mained  at  his  post  in  San  Juan  until  he  was  swept  away  by 
the  tidal  wave  of  sentiment  that  took  him  with  other  Southern 
born  officers  into  rebellion.  Colonel  Silas  Casey  remained  true 
to  the  flag,  and  rose  to  high  rank  in  our  army. 

During  the  war  of  the  rebellion  the  San  Juan  matter,  like 
many  others,  was  pushed  into  the  background  by  the  supreme 
question  of  the  national  existence,  and  the  matter  of  settle- 
ment was  not  taken  up  by  this  government  until  1871.  From 
1861  until  1865,  the  garrison  was  from  the  9th  Infantry  and 
the  2nd  Artillery.  Immediately  after  the  war,  it  was  from 
the  23rd  and  21st  Infantry;  and  the  last  named  regiment,  of 
which  I  was  at  one  time  major,  furnished  the  garrison  at  the 
time  of  the  final  settlement  of  the  matter  in  dispute. 

My  esteemed  friend,  Captain  Ebstein,  of  the  21st  Infantry, 
who  was  at  one  period  of  the  joint  occupation  stationed  at 
San  Juan  island,  says  in  reference  to  the  practical  working 
of  the  agreement  entered  into  by  Admiral  Baynes  and  General 
Scott:  "The  duties  of  the  two  commanding  officers  were  mani- 
fold and  delicate;  they  were  not  only  military  commanders, 
but  also  judges,  notaries,  customs  officials,  land  commission- 
ers, registrators,  and  even  coroners.  There  was  no  other  au- 
thority on  the  islands  of  the  archipelago,  than  that  of  these 
officers.  The  population  exclusive  of  the  garrison  was  about 
600,  nearly  equally  divided  in  national  adherence.  All  British 
subjects  were  required  to  register  their  land  claims  at  the  Brit- 
ish camp,  and  in  like  manner  American  settlers  made  their 
registry  at  our  camp.  Breaches  of  the  peace  and  misdemean- 
ors were  tried  before  the  commander  of  the  power  whose  pro- 
tection the  offender  claimed.  If  the  offense  involved  citizens 
of  both  nations,  the  two  commanders  sat  in  joint  court.  The 
punishments  were  imprisonment  in  the  guard  house,  fine,  or, 
in  aggravated  cases,  banishment  from  the  island.  The  inhab- 
itants paid  no  tax  of  any  kind  on  articles  brought  from  the 
British  possessions.  They  had  the  choice  of  taking  their  prod- 
uct to  either  the  British  or  American  market,  without  paying 
duty,  on  the  certificate  of  the  commanding  officer  that  the 
articles  were  the  product  of  the  island.  Schools  were  main- 
tained by  private  subscription." 


HOW  WE  WON  THE  SAN  JUAN  ABCHIPELAGO.  49 

To  the  credit  of  the  various  commanding  officers  on  both 
sides,  it  may  be  stated  that  they  performed  their  difficult  and 
complicated  duties  with  the  greatest  care  and  impartiality, 
and  without  the  slightest  degree  of  friction,  during  the  thir- 
teen years  that  this  anomalous  condition  of  affairs  was  main- 
tained. The  personal  and  social  relations  of  the  officers  and 
their  families  were  the  most  amicable,  and  the  enlisted  men 
fraternized  as  though  they  belonged  to  one  and  the  same 
service. 

We  come  now  to  the  final  settlement  of  the  difference  con- 
cerning which  Sir  Robert  Peel  once  said  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons that  it  must,  unless  speedily  terminated,  involve  both 
countries  in  the  necessity  to  an  appeal  to  arms.  And  there 
seemed  to  be  no  escape  from  this  when  we  remember  the  atti- 
tude of  the  two  governments  as  expressed  by  Lord  John  Rus- 
sell and  Mr.  Cass.  Lord  Russell,  under  date  of  August  24th, 
1859,  thus  wrote  to  Lord  Lyons,  the  envoy  to  the  United  States: 
"Her  Majesty's  government  must,  therefore,  under  any  circum- 
stances, maintain  the  right  of  the  British  Crown  to  the  island 
of  San  Juan.  The  interests  at  stake  in  connection  with  the  re- 
tention of  that  island  are  too  important  to  admit  of  compro- 
mise, and  your  lordship  will  consequently  bear  in  mind  that 
whatever  arrangement  as  to  the  boundary  line  is  finally  ar- 
rived at,  no  settlement  of  the  question  will  be  accepted  by  Her 
Majesty's  government  which  does  not  provide  for  the  island 
of  San  Juan  being  reserved  to  the  British  Crown." 

Mr.  Cass,  our  Secretary  of  State,  replied,  October  20th, 
1859 :  "If  this  declaration  is  to  be  insisted  upon,  it  must  termi- 
nate the  negotiation  at  its  very  threshold;  because  this  gov- 
ernment can  permit  itself  to  enter  into  no  discussion  with  that 
of  Great  Britain,  or  any  other  power,  except  upon  terms  of 
perfect  equality."  Later,  on  February  4th,  1860,  he  says: 
"Since,  therefore,  Lord  John  Russell  repeats  with  great  frank- 
ness his  original  declaration,  that  'no  settlement  of  the  ques- 
tion will  be  accepted  by  Her  Majesty's  government  which  does 
not  provide  for  the  island  of  San  Juan  being  reserved  to  the 
British  Crown,'  I  am  directed  by  the  President  to  state  with 
equal  frankness  that  the  United  States  will,  under  all  circum- 
stances, maintain  their  right  to  the  island  in  controversy  until 


50  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  question  of  title  to  it  shall  be  determined  by  some  amicable 
arrangement  between  the  parties." 

When  a  deadlock  like  this  occurs,  settlement  is  only  possi- 
ble by  one  of  four  methods,  surrender  of  rights,  compromise, 
arbitration,  or  war.  Surrender  of  rights  was  not  to  be  thought 
of  by  two  proud  nations;  compromise  had  proved  to  be  impos- 
sible; war  should  be  the  last  resort  of  kindred  and  Christian 
nations.  Arbitration  seemed  an  honorable  and  pleasant  way 
out  of  the  difficulty.  On  the  10th  of  December,  1860,  Lord 
Lyons  proposed  settlement  by  arbitration,  proposing  the  king 
of  the  Netherlands,  or  the  king  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  or 
the  president  of  the  Federal  Council  of  Switzerland,  as  the 
arbitrator. 

None  of  these  parties  named  proved  agreeable  to  the  United 
States,  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  came  on,  and  the  matter 
slept  until  more  settled  times  came  to  the  country.  The  treaty 
of  Washington  settled  the  difficulties  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  growing  out  of  the  Alabama  claims 
and  other  international  questions  having  their  birth  during  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion.  It  was  signed  May  8th,  1871,  and  its 
34th  and  35th  articles  provide  that  "whereas  the  government 
of  Her  Britannic  Majesty  claims  that  such  boundary  line  [refer- 
ring to  the  one  we  are  now  discussing,  and  describing  it  accord- 
ing to  the  treaty  of  1846]  should,  under  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
above  recited,  be  run  through  the  Rosario  Straits,  and  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  claims  that  it  should  be  run 
through  the  Canal  de  Haro,  it  is  agreed  that  the  respective 
claims  of  the  government  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty  and  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States  shall  be  submitted  to  the 
arbitration  and  award  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, who,  having  regard  to  the  above-mentioned  article  of 
the  said  treaty,  shall  decide  thereupon  finally  and  without 
appeal  which  of  these  claims  is  most  in  accordance  with  the 
true  interpretation  of  the  treaty  of  June  15,  1846.  The  award 
of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Germany  shall  be  considered 
as  absolutely  final  and  conclusive,  and  full  effect  shall  be  given 
to  such  award  without  any  objection,  evasion,  or  delay  what- 
soever." Other  articles  provide  for  each  party's  submitting  its 
case  either  in  writing  or  by  counsel. 


HOW  WE  WON  THE  SAN  JUAN  ARCHIPELAGO.  51 

The  officers  of  my  regiment  stationed  on  San  Juan  island 
were  informed  by  the  British  officers  that  they  considered  the 
case  won,  because,  the  Crown  Prince  of  Germany  having  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Queen  Victoria,  his  influence  and  that  of 
his  wife  would  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  Emperor  William  to 
induce  him  in  his  final  judgment  to  favor  the  English  claim. 
Time  went  on,  the  respective  memorials  of  the  governments 
were  presented,  and  the  arguments  made  before  the  three  emi- 
nent judges  of  the  Imperial  Court  of  Berlin.  The  English  offi- 
cers on  the  island  and  the  officials  in  Victoria  grew  more  and 
more  confident  of  an  award  in  their  favor;  but  one  day  it  was 
whispered  abroad  that  a  commission  of  German  lawyers  were 
in  Victoria  asking  questions  of  English  shipmasters.  From 
the  extensive  coal  fields  of  British  Columbia,  as  Nanaimo,  on 
Vancouver  island,  in  particular,  fleet  after  fleet  of  English 
ships  sail  with  coal  for  Pacific  ports  in  the  United  States,  and 
for  Japan,  China,  Australia,  and  the  islands  of  the  South  Sea. 
Now  these  deeply  laden  vessels  must  be  taken  to  sea  through 
the  best  channel,  the  main  ship  channel;  and  it  can  be  confi- 
dently stated  that  no  English  shipmaster  would  have  held  his 
warrant  an  hour  after  it  was  known  to  the  underwriters  that 
he  had  failed  to  take  the  ship  through  the  main  channel,  the 
Canal  de  Haro,  with  its  six  and  a  half  miles  of  unbroken  width 
and  180  fathoms  of  depth,  but  had  chosen  the  Rosario  strait, 
with  the  entrance  to  its  waters  obstructed  by  several  rocky 
islets  making  its  safe  navigation  by  sailing  vessels  dependent 
on  favorable  winds  and  tides. 

In  answer  to  the  plain  question  of  the  commissioners, 
"What  do  you  consider  the  main  channel  through  the  San  Juan 
archipelago?"  the  reply  of  the  English  ship  captains  was  in 
every  case,  I  believe,  "The  Canal  de  Haro ;"  for,  however  much 
national  feelings  may  have  inclined  them  to  favor  the  British 
claim  to  Rosario  strait,  professional  pride  would  compel  the 
true  answer. 

After  these  facts  became  known,  the  British  officers  were 
less  sanguine  of  a  favorable  award,  and  I  think  they  were  not 
surprised  when  it  was  made  in  our  favor. 

On  the  21st  of  October,  1872,  the  Emperor  William  made 
his  award.     He  said:    "After  hearing  the  report  made  to  us  by 


52  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  experts  and  jurists  summoned  by  us  upon  the  contents  of 
the  interchanged  memorials  and  their  appendices,  we  have 
decreed  the  following  award:  Most  in  accordance  with  the 
true  interpretations  of  the  treaty  concluded  on  the  15th  of 
June,  1846,  between  the  governments  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty 
and  of  the  United  States  of  America,  is  the  claim  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  that  the  boundary  line  between 
the  territories  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty  and  the  United  States 
should  be  drawn  through  the  Haro  Channel." 

The  news  of  the  award  must  have  been  sent  from  Berlin 
by  the  British  minister  at  once  and  communicated  instantly 
to  the  authorities  in  Victoria,  and  through  them  to  the  officer 
in  command  of  the  British  camp  on  the  island.  The  first  in- 
formation our  officers  received  was  a  message  from  Capt. 
Bazalgette,  who  for  thirteen  years  had  held  the  British  com- 
mand. The  messenger  arrived  in  the  American  camp  soon 
after  reveille.  Capt.  Bazalgette  said  he  would  evacuate  the 
island  at  once,  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  award, 
notice  of  which  he  had  just  received. 

Captain  (then  lieutenant)  Ebstein  of  my  regiment,  to  whom 
I  have  before  referred,  started  at  once  with  a  small  detach- 
ment of  mounted  men  and  rode  rapidly  over  the  sixteen  miles 
that  separated  the  two  camps.  His  instructions  from  his  com- 
manding officer  were  to  receipt  for  any  buildings  or  other 
property  the  British  officers  might  desire  to  turn  over.  He 
also  had  with  him  a  flag  to  run  up  on  the  flagstaff  after  the 
British  should  have  taken  their  departure.  He  says:  "As  I 
rode  into  the  camp,  a  number  of  sailors  and  marines  were  en- 
gaged, under  the  direction  of  an  officer,  in  cutting  down  the 
handsome  flagstaff  which  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  parade 
ground.  In  a  few  moments  it  fell  with  a  loud  crash.  The 
ostensible  reason  given  for  this  act  was  that  the  staff  was 
needed  for  a  spar  on  board  one  of  the  naval  vessels  then  lying 
at  the  dock  waiting  to  transport  the  troops.  These  were  the 
Scout  and  the  Petrel,  British  men-of-war.  A  young  subaltern, 
however,  with  perhaps  more  candor  than  judgment,  put  it 
more  correctly  when  he  said,  'You  know  we  could  never  have 
any  other  flag  float  from  a  staff  that  had  borne  the  cross  of 
St  George.' " 


HOW  WE  WON  THE  SAN  JUAN  ARCHIPELAGO.  53 

Capt.  Ebstein  ran  up  his  flag  on  a  telegraph  pole,  and  the 
few  Americans  present  greeted  it  with  hearty  cheers  as  the 
English  soldiers  sailed  away  to  Victoria. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  information  had  been  received  by  our 
government  and  communicated  to  Gen.  E.  S.  Canby,  command- 
ing the  Department  of  the  Columbia,  with  headquarters  in 
Portland,  Oregon,  who  immediately  took  steps  to  send  a  de- 
tachment of  troops  to  San  Juan  to  salute  the  British  flag,  and 
pay  the  other  usual  honors  on  the  occasion  of  an  evacuation; 
but  the  hasty  departure  of  the  English  garrison  had  prevented 
this  act  of  courtesy  on  our  part.  Circumstances  indicated 
that  this  pleasant  duty  would  have  devolved  upon  me.  I  have 
always  regretted  that  I  could  not  have  been  personally  asso- 
ciated with  the  final  act  in  a  series  of  events  which  had  com- 
menced with  the  first  boundary  treaty  ninety  years  before. 

Many  anxious  hours  had  been  spent  by  statesmen,  English 
and  American,  over  the  questions  raised  by  national  and  local 
jealousies  and  rivalries,  and  the  conflicting  claims  of  colonies, 
companies  of  traders,  states  and  provinces,  combined  with  an 
uncertain  geographical  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  an  ig- 
norance of  its  commercial,  agricultural  and  political  value,  as 
the  boundary  line  slowly  marched  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pa- 
cific ocean,  through  almost  a  century  of  time.  The  disputes 
had  more  than  once  threatened  to  end  in  war.  It  was  the 
good  sense  of  military  commanders  that  opened  the  way  for  a 
peaceful  settlement.  It  was  the  word  of  a  soldier  king  that 
put  the  vexed  question  forever  at  rest. 

More  and  more,  thoughtful  men  expect  that,  in  the  settle- 
ment of  international  difficulties,  nations  should  arbitrate 
whenever  possible,  fight  only  when  they  must. 

But  I  would  have  my  friends  understand  that  war  is  not 
an  unmixed  evil.  Indeed  it  has  more  than  once  proved  a 
blessing  to  a  people. 

"War  is  honorable  in  those 
Who  do  their  native  right  maintain, 
Whose  swords  an  iron  barrier  rear 
Between  the  lawless  spoiler  and  the  weak." 

In  our  own  country  we  are  a  better,  a  stronger  people  from 
the  necessity  laid  upon  us  to  open  the  continent,  step  by  step, 


54  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

to  the  progress  of  civilization,  from  New  England  to  the 
Golden  Gate,  by  the  strong  hand  of  the  military  power.  Much 
of  cruelty,  much  of  injustice,  has  marked  our  dealings  with 
the  native  race,  the  Indian  tribes  whom  we  found  in  possession 
of  the  land;  and  for  these  acts  I  have  no  word  of  excuse,  for, 
next  to  slavery,  the  treatment  in  many  cases  of  the  native  race 
is  the  darkest  page  in  American  history.  But  blessings  have 
followed  in  the  train  of  war.  The  War  of  the  Eevolution  made 
us  a  nation  of  freemen.  The  War  of  1812  gave  us  confidence 
in  ourselves  and  gained  us  the  respect  of  England  and  of  Eu- 
rope. The  war  with  Mexico,  although  in  my  judgment  not  justi- 
fiable, opened  new  fields  to  American  enterprise.  The  War 
of  the  Kebellion  made  us  what  we  were  not  before,  one  people 
from,  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico. 

I  would  not  fire  the  hearts  of  the  young  with  military  ardor 
for  the  lust  of  glory.  I  would  not  have  them  forget  the  dark 
side  of  war.  But  I  would  have  them  so  filled  with  love  of 
country  that  they  would  willingly  follow  in  the  footsteps  of 
their  fathers,  and  if  the  emergency  shall  demand  the  sacrifice 
of  life,  freely  give  it,  that  the  blessings  which  follow  in  the 
train  of  a  righteous  war,  freedom  for  persons,  property,  and 
conscience,  and  the  reign  of  law,  may  be  the  heritage  of  those 
who  follow  them. 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA  * 


BY  REV.  JOSEPH  A.  GILFILLAN. 


In  describing  the  Ojibway  people  as  seen  during  more  than 
twenty  years  of  missionary  work  among  them,  I  cannot  claim 
infallibility  for  the  impressions  I  am  about  to  record,  but  only 
that  they  appeared  so  to  me.  It  should  be  stated  also  that  the 
names  Ojibway  and  Chippewa  are  exactly  synonymous,  the 
latter  being  a  more  anglicized  form  of  the  same  word. 

THEIR  GEOGRAPHIC  DISTRIBUTION. 

In  1873  the  local  distribution  of  the  Ojibways  in  Minnesota 
was  not  much  different  from  what  it  is  now.  There  were  800 
or  900  about  Mille  Lacs;  about  1,200  at  Red  lake;  about  1,000 
around  Leech  lake;  and  about  600  around  Cass  lake  and  lake 
Winnibigoshish.  At  Gull  lake  about  200  lingered  who  had  not 
been  removed  to  the  White  Earth  reservation,  and  there  were 
600  or  800  scattered  through  the  immense  pine  fprests 
stretching  from  Winnibigoshish,  by  Sandy  lake,  to  the  North- 
ern Pacific  railroad;  while  at  White  Earth  about  1,700  were  lo- 
cated, very  largely  French  mixed-bloods.  Those  who  lived  at 
White  Earth  had  been  removed  there  within  five  years,  mostly 
from  Gull  lake  and  Crow  Wing;  but  the  mixed  bloods  had 
come  from  many  different  parts  of  northern  Minnesota  and 
Wisconsin. 

The  Pembina  band  were  then  living  at  Pembina  river,  and 
the  Bois  Forts  or  Lake  Vermilion  Indians  where  they  still 
live. 

The  principal  changes  since  that  time  have  been  that  per- 
haps 300  of  the  Mille  Lacs  band  and  the  remaining  200  Gull 


♦Read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of   the   Executive   Council,    November  8, 

1897. 


56  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Lake  Indians  have  removed  to  White  Earth;  and  about  300 
Leech  Lake  Indians  and  100  Cass  Lakers,  and  perhaps  1,000 
more  French  Canadian  mixed-bloods,  who  had  been  living 
scattered  among  the  whites  in  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin,  have 
come  to  the  same  place.  Also  a  band  of  Pembinas,  largely 
mixed-bloods,  removed  to  the  White  Earth  reservation  about 
twenty-four  years  ago. 

On  the  White  Earth  reservation  more  than  three-fourths 
of  the  present  3,000  population  are  mixed-bloods,  mostly 
French.  At  Red  Lake  Agency  and  at  Leech  lake  there  are 
also  many.  About  Leech  lake  there  are  perhaps  a  hundred 
descendants  of  the  negro  Bungo;  nearly  all  these  are  very 
muscular,  and  some  have  been  of  unusually  fine  physique. 
The  mixed-bloods  generally  are  inferior  to  the  full-bloods 
morally,  and  I  think  also  mentally  and  physically.  However, 
as  they  speak  French  and  generally  English  also,  they  have 
advantage  over  the  full-blood  Ojibways.  It  should  be  said, 
moreover,  that  there  are  some  mixed-bloods  who  are  as  good 
and  as  nice  in  every  way  as  any  white  people. 

The  beautiful  and  fertile  land  of  the  White  Earth  reserva- 
tion, and  the  rations  given  by  the  United  States  government 
for  from  one  to  five  years  to  each  member  of  the  families  who 
would  remove  there,  since  the  treaty  of  1889,  have  been  the 
inducements  which  have  influenced  those  who  came,  both 
mixed-bloods  and  Indians.  In  addition,  they  had  houses  built 
for  them,  land  broken,  stoves,  wagons,  sleighs,  cows  and  oxen 
given  them,  and  many  other  inducements,  enabling  them  to 
make  a  good  start  in  life. 

THE  O  JIB  WAY'S  LOVE  OF  HIS  NATIVE  PLACE. 

But  the  Indian  is  very  strongly  attached  to  his  old  home, 
where  he  was  born;  and,  unlike  the  white  man,  he  generally 
lives  and  dies  in  his  native  village.  He  knows  every  tree  and 
pond  for  miles  around,  and  he  knows  he  can  make  a  living 
there  for  he  has  always  done  so;  but  he  has  a  dread  of  going 
elsewhere,  even  to  far  more  fertile  land,  to  try  to  make  his 
living,  for  that  is  launching  out  on,  to  him,  an  unknown  sea. 
Hence  the  offer  of  four  or  five  years'  rations  of,  to  him,  most 
luxurious  food,  and  of  oxen,  plows,  wagons,  and  everything 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  57 

to  begin  farming  with,  has  not  tempted  the  Ojibways  in  large 
numbers  from  their  native  lakes,  as  Mille  Lacs,  Leech  lake, 
Cass  lake,  and  others.  The  O  jib  way  reasons  to-  himself:  "I 
have  here  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  fish;  I  have  venison,  wild 
rice,  and  other  things;  but  if  I  go  on  the  prairie,  where  there 
are  none  of  these  things,  and  where  I  must  plow  and  work  for 
a  living,  perhaps  I  shall  have  a  hard -time.  So  perhaps  I  had 
better  not  leave  the  fish,  nor  let  these  offers  tempt  me." 

The  Ojibway  always,  in  his  natural  state,  lives  on  lakes  or 
rivers.  He  is  a  fish  Indian,  and  draws  his  subsistence  largely 
from  the  water.  Formerly  he  lived  on  other  flesh.  Old  In- 
dians still  living  tell  of  the  countless  herds  of  buffalo,  moose, 
elk,  reindeer,  and  other  animals,  which  filled  the  country  in 
their  young  days,  and  which  they  say  were  in  such  vast  num- 
bers that  they  did  not  think  then  it  would  ever  be  possible  by 
any  effort  of  man  to  diminish  them.  They  tell  of  the  moose 
yarding  together  in  those  days,  in  winters  when  the  snow  was 
very  deep,  in  droves  of  hundreds,  and  of  their  going  and  killing 
them  all  with  their  axes.  But  with  the  nearer  approach  of 
the  white  man  the  game  was  driven  off,  and  the  Ojibway  be- 
came of  necessity  a  fish  Indian.  The  fish  could  not  be  driven 
off  like  the  buffalo.  In  their  natural  state,  fish  is  about  three- 
fourths  of  their  living.  It  may  be  proper  here  to  say  that 
when  the  earliest  Indians  were  removed  to  White  Earth,  in 
1868,  there  were  still  a  few  buffalo  to  be  seen  on  the  prairies 
there,  and  for  some  years  afterward. 

PERSONAL  APPEARANCE. 

In  appearance  the  Ojibway  is  a  fine  looking  man,  especially 
when  living  in  the  freedom  of  his  native  forests,  and  before 
he  has  been  enfeebled  by  the  vices  he  has  learned  from  white 
men.  Many  are  quite  tall,  the  tallest  I  have  seen  being  from 
6  feet  and  4  inches  to  6  feet  8  inches.  They  have  well  devel- 
oped chests  and  sinewy  frames.  Their  limbs  are  not  nearly 
so  heavy  as  those  of  many  white  men.  They  very  generally 
have  small  and  beautifully  shaped  hands;  indeed,  from  their 
hands  one  would  take  them  to  be  of  nature's  aristocracy.  The 
men  have  an  erect,  graceful,  and  easy  carriage,  and  a  beautiful 
springy  step  and  motion  in  their  native  wilds,  where  they 
walk  and  look  like  the  lords  of  creation.    In  their  beauty  of 


58  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

motion  in  walking  the  men  far  surpass  our  race;  there  is  no 
swinging  of  the  arms,  or  other  awkward  motions,  but  grace 
and  a  beautiful  poise  and  carriage  of  the  body. 

As  is  well  known,  they  have  abundant  thick  and  strong 
hair.  I  can  only  recall  about  two  Indians  of  the  whole  Ojib- 
way  nation  who  are  bald,  and  they  only  partially  so.  Nor  does 
their  hair  early  turn  gray,  as  often  with  us;  this  change  comes 
only  in  extreme  old  age.  When  approaching  the  age  of  eighty 
years,  an  Ojibway's  hair  turns  gray,  but  not  much  before. 
Often  at  the  age  of  seventy-five,  their  hair  is  as  black  and 
thick  as  at  twenty.  Their  hair  never  turns  quite  white,  so 
far  as  I  can  remember. 

The  Ojibway  man  has  usually  beautiful,  white,  even  teeth, 
till  far  past  middle  age,  although  he  never  cleans  them  and 
takes  no  care  of  them  whatever.  The  voice  is  usually  high 
pitched  and  resonant;  the  eye  black  and  liquid.  The  man 
does  not  usually  get  stout  as  he  grows  old;  he  rather,  if  any- 
thing, dries  up.  It  is  rare  to  see  a  fat  Indian  man,  except 
when  it  has  been  caused  by  excessive  drinking.  Their  lean- 
ness, as  they  grow  older,  has  been  accounted  for,  in  my  mind, 
by  their  incessant  spitting  from  their  great  use  of  tobacco,  and 
by  the  spare  diet  to  which  they  are  usually  condemned. 

The  women  are  in  many  respects  a  great  contrast  to  the 
men.  Instead  of  the  beautiful  springing  step,  they  trudge 
along  with  a  heavy,  plodding  tread,  devoid  of  all  beauty  of 
motion.  They  have  not  a  particle  of  the  grace  in  motion  of 
their  white  sisters. x  Their  heavy  gait  I  have  accounted  for  in 
my  own  mind  by  the  heavy  packs  and  burdens  which  for  gener- 
ations they  have  had  to  bear.  Many  of  the  women  have 
packed,  all  their  lives,  burdens  of  two  hundred  pounds.  With 
this  continued  for  centuries,  it  is  no  wonder  that  their  step 
is  heavy.  The  Ojibway  man,  in  his  native  state,  rarely  carries 
any  pack,  if  there  be  a  woman  along  to  do  it,  unless  there  is 
so  much  that  both  must  pack.  He  puts  it  upon  the  woman, 
while  he  strides  along  in  front,  magnificently,  with  his  gun. 
Both  parties  seem  to  look  on  that  as  natural  and  proper. 
Sometimes  when  a  man  marries  a  young  woman,  he  puts  his 
own  pack  on  her  in  addition  to  her  own  and  soon  breaks  her 
down.    In  this,  as  in  nearly  all  here  written,  I  am  speaking 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  59 

of  the  heathen  Indian;  for  when  they  become  Christians,  they 
view  things  in  a  very  different  light,  and  their  practice  ap- 
proaches our  own.  The  woman  always  walks  behind,  never 
by  the  side  of  a  man.  Often  on  the  top  of  her  enormous  pack, 
if  the  articles  be  bulky,  as  when  moving  her  wigwam,  etc.,  from 
place  to  place,  one  can  see  the  baby  perched  high  above  her 
head,  securely  tied  to  keep  it  from  falling  from  its  perilous 
height.  On  a  journey  the  woman  packs  the  birch  bark  for  the 
wigwam,  the  rush  mats  to  sleep  on,  the  cooking  utensils,  the 
food.  Sometimes  I  have  seen  the  woman  invert  the  heavy 
canoe,  weighing  80  or  100  pounds,  over  her  head,  and  carry  it 
for  miles  and  miles  over  all  portages,  while  her  husband  took 
the  light  traps.  The  women  generally  have  very  large  waists. 
In  middle  life  they  are  usually  quite  stout  and  fleshy,  and  I 
think  would  average  more  in  weight  than  the  men.  They 
seem  to  be  just  as  expert  with  the  axe,  and  as  strong  for  all 
kinds  of  labor. 

At  Red  Lake  the  women  especially,  but  also  the  men,  are, 
for  some  reason  unknown  to  me,  exceedingly  tall.  The  Red 
Lake  Indians  are  by  far  taller  than  the  other  Ojibways,  which 
is  the  more  remarkable  as  they  have  not  lived  at  Red  Lake 
very  long.  Many  of  the  men  there  are  6  feet  4  inches  in  stat- 
ure. I  have  known  some  so  tall  as  6  feet  8  inches.  I  know 
considerable  numbers  of  old  women  there  who  must  be  about 
5  feet  10  inches  to  6  feet  tall.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know 
what  there  is  in  the  soil,  water,  or  food,  which  has  so  soon 
produced  such  a  tall  race. 

INFREQUENCE  OP  INSANITY. 

It  is  strange  that,  considering  the  hardships  of  their  lives, 
insanity  is  extremely  rare  among  the  Ojibways.  Only  once, 
along  in  the  70's  or  80's,  during  an  Indian  payment  at  Mille 
Lacs,  when  many  hundreds  were  collected,  did  I  see  an  Indian 
who  seemed  to  be  insane,  and  he  not  very  violent.  A  crowd  of 
young  men  and  boys  were  around  him,  teasing  and  mocking 
him,  and  he  was  striking  at  them.  That  is  the  only  crazy  man 
I  happened  to  see,  or  to  know  of.  A  young  mixed-blood  man 
from  White  Earth,  nearly  white,  was  in  an  insane  asylum  for 
some  time;  also  a  woman  from  Leech  lake  was  under  such  care 
for  a  time.    Also  a  middle-aged  man  wandered  off  into  the 


60  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

woods  in  a  semi-demented  state  and  died.  I  have  known  only 
two  feeble-minded  or  idiotic,  one  a  young  man  of  twenty-three 
years,  whose  idiocy  was  caused  before  his  birth  by  his  mother's 
seeing  for  the  first  time  a  railroad  train,  which  rushed  out  at 
her  from  a  cut  on  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad.  She  fell  in  a 
dead  faint  and  lay  thus  for  some  time,  and  her  son  is  an  idiot. 
It  is  also  a  matter  of  thankfulness  that,  considering  the  hard- 
ships, suicide  is  extremely  rare.  There  has  been  only  one 
case  in  twenty-five  years,  this  being  an  elderly  woman  who 
hung  herself  at  the  gate  in  front  of  her  door,  after  a  family 
quarrel. 

CHANGES  DURING  THE  PAST  TWENTY-FIVE   YEARS. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  compare  a  first  look  at  the  Ojib- 
ways  with  what  one  sees  to-day.  It  was  in  1873  on  the  White 
Earth  reservation.  Many  of  the  Indians  then  dressed  in  the 
old  Indian  garb  of  blankets,  cotton  leggings,  and  moccasins. 
Now  there  are  only  a  few  old  men  who  are  so  dressed,  though 
all  who  can  get  them  still  prefer  the  moccasins.  The  White 
Earth  Indians  were  then  rapidly  rising  in  all  respects,  under 
the  influence  of  the  mission  and  the  admirable  management 
of  the  agent,  E.  P.  Smith.  There  was  a  little  church  well  at- 
tended; but  old  Indian  habits,  as  might  be  expected,  were  still 
strong.  Sometimes  they  would  go  from  the  church,  at  the 
conclusion  of  service,  to  the  Indian  dance  which  was  in  full 
blast  not  far  from  the  church  door  with  all  its  drumming, 
whooping,  and  jumping  up  and  down.  There  was  thus  the 
mixture  of  Christianity  and  heathenism  which  might  be  ex- 
pected. 

That  winter  there  came  from  Eed  lake,  where  they  were 
all  at  that  time  wild  men,  about  sixty  old  grand  medicine  men, 
in  January,  when  the  thermometer  was  about  forty  degrees 
below  zero,  bringing  the  big  medicine  drum  with  them,  and 
sleeping  out  about  four  times  on  the  way,  80  or  90  miles.  Their 
coming  created  a  greater  sensation  than  would  that  of  Pa- 
derewski  to  your  city.  The  big  drum  was  brought  out,  with 
all  the  old  fellows  from  Red  lake  singing  around  it  so  loud 
that  their  voices  could  be  heard,  it  would  seem,  for  miles;  and 
soon  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  White  Earth,  discarding  the 
garments  of  civilization  which  they  had  lately  put  on,  and 


THE  OHBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  61 

painting  themselves  once  more  as  wild  men,  were  whooping 
and  dancing  around  the  drum,  telling  stories  about  the  Sioux 
they  had  scalped,  and  having  a  veritable  orgy  which  made 
night  and  day  hideous  for  weeks.  Thus  the  infant  Christianity 
and  the  infant  civilization  of  the  place  seemed  for  the  time  to 
be  swallowed  up  and  lost.  The  old  Red  Lake  medicine  men 
ate  so  many  dogs  in  continual  medicine  feasts,  that,  as  Paul 
Beaulieu  wittily  said,  they  went  home  barking. 

In  the  fall  of  1873  I  first  saw  the  Leech  Lake  Indians.  It 
was  annual  payment  time,  and  there  were  perhaps  a  thousand 
or  more  assembled  in  the  public  square.  They  were  all,  so 
far  as  I  can  remember,  wild  blanket  Indians,  with  faces 
painted,  long  scalp  locks,  and  feathers;  they  were  wrapped 
in  blankets  of  green,  white,  blue,  red,  and  all  colors.  It  was 
a  cold  October  day,  the  wind  blowing  and  some  snow  flying, 
so  that  we  felt  the  cold  in  thick  overcoats;  and  I  was  surprised 
to  see  great  numbers  of  little  children,  running  around  every- 
where, entirely  naked,  or  some  of  them  with  only  a  thin  cotton 
shirt  flying  loose  in  the  bitter  wind,  affording  really  no  protec- 
tion at  all.  Now,  most  of  the  Leech  Lake  Indians  wear  citi- 
zens' clothes. 

In  1876  I  first  saw  the  Red  Lake  Indians.  On  all  the  large 
stones  about  their  village  there  were  offerings  of  tobacco,  laid 
there  for  the  gods  who  were  supposed  by  them  to  inhabit  those 
rocks.  They  lived  in  bark  wigwams,  and  there  were  many 
fields  of  corn.  They  were  all  wild  blanket  Indians,  fantastic- 
ally painted.  We  had  gone  to  speak  to  them  about  founding 
a  mission,  and  had  taken  along  with  us  some  Christian  Indians 
from  White  Earth  who  were  considered  the  very  best  speakers, 
to  speak  to  them  on  the  subject.  Besides  we  had  a  present 
of  some  sacks  of  flour,  some  pork,  and  tea,  to  dispose  them  to 
a  favorable  hearing.  They  filed  in,  dressed  in  gay  colored 
blankets,  and  with  all  their  Indian  paint  and  bravery.  They 
eagerly  seized  the  present  of  provisions  and  carried  it  off;  but, 
as  often  happens,  they  cared  nothing  for  the  eloquence  we  had 
brought  them,  and  indeed  would  not  listen  to  it.  When  they 
had  got  the  provisions,  they  wanted  nothing  more.  Now, 
among  the  1,200  Red  Lake  Indians  there  are  few  blankets  to 
be  seen,  and  most  of  the  scalp-locks  have  been  cut  off. 


62  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

An  intelligent  American  employee,  who  lived  among  them 
about  ten  years  before  that  time  and  had  married  one  of  their 
women,  told  me  that  when  he  was  there  they  had  a  custom, 
both  men  and  women,  of  plastering  their  naked  backs  in  the 
summer  time  all  over  with  white  clay,  which  dried  and  hard- 
eined  and  adhered  to  the  skin,  and  that  upon  the  clay  they 
painted  all  kinds  of  curious  figures,  so  that  it  looked  very 
strange  to  see  them  stalking  around  all  summer  with  those 
painted  figures  on  their  backs.  That  was  about  thirty  years 
ago;  now  they  are  mostly  dressed  like  other  people,  the  change 
in  that,  as  in  other  respects,  having  been  rapid. 

HOME   LIFE   IN   THE   WIGWAM. 

In  1873  nearly  all  the  Ojibways  everywhere,  except  the 
few  newly  removed  to  White  Earth,  lived  winter  and  summer 
in  birch  bark  wigwams.  Now,  nearly  all  of  them  have  built 
for  themselves,  or  have  had  built  for  them  by  the  United 
States  government,  one-roomed  log  cabins,  in  which  they  win- 
ter; but,  in  front  of  these,  nearly  every  family  puts  up  in 
summer  an  old  style  birch  bark  wigwam,  in  which  they  pass 
the  summer,  returning  to  the  log  house  when  the  cold  weather 
sets  in.  They  properly  prefer  the  wigwam  for  its  greater  cool- 
ness, better  circulation  of  air  and  greater  cleanness.  There 
are  still,  however,  some  families  who  from  preference  winter 
in  birch  bark  wigwams.  That  would  be  to  us  a  life  of  extreme 
and  intolerable  suffering  from  cold.  The  strips  of  birch  bark 
are  laid  loosely  on,  and  there  are  great  chinks  everywhere 
through  which  one  can  put  his  hand,  and  there  is  the  open  top. 
The  family  sit  round  the  fire  in  a  circle,  on  rush  mats  made  by 
the  women  from  rushes  which  grow  in  the  lakes;  and  as  long 
as  the  fire  is  kept  up  one's  face  is  warm  while  facing  the  fire, 
but,  if  it  be  cold  weather,  one's  back,  opposite  the  open  chinks, 
is  never  comfortably  warm.  It  would  seem  that  it  is  only 
because  they  have  become  so  used  to  suffering  extreme  cold 
in  these  wigwams,  through  so  many  centuries,  that  they  ever 
survive  a  winter.  They  do  not  complain  of  it,  however,  and 
do  not  seem  to  mind  it.  It  is  certain  that  from  long  habit  and 
from  heredity  they  can  endure  a  degree  of  cold  that  to  us 
would  be  intolerable. 

On  approaching  a  wigwam,  the  custom  is  to  raise  the  blan- 
ket which  hangs  over  the  doorway  and  go  in  without  asking 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  63 

permission  or  knocking  as  with  us.  Everyone  seems  privi- 
leged to  go  in  by  day  or  night.  If  the  inmates  look  on  the 
newcomer  with  favor  they  say  when  he  raises  the  blanket  door 
and  looks  in,  "Mnd  ubimin,  nind  ubimin  (We  are  at  home,  we 
are  at  home)/'  which  is  a  welcome,  though  nothing  is  thought 
on  either  side  if  silence  is  preserved.  The  best  seat  is  con- 
sidered to  be  that  directly  opposite  the  opening  or  door,  be- 
hind the  fire.  That  is  the  seat  and  bed  of  the  master  of  the 
house  and  his  wife,  while  along  the  sides  is  the  place  of  the 
children  and  others.  If  the  master  of  the  house  wishes  to 
treat  the  newcomer  with  great  respect,  he  moves  from  his  seat 
on  the  mat,  saying  to  the  visitor  in  cheerful  words  to  sit  there, 
smoothing  out  the  mat  for  him,  and  brushing  away  any  dust, 
so  that  it  will  be  clean.  Around  the  fire  in  the  center,  and  at 
a  distance  of  perhaps  two  feet  from  it,  are  placed  sticks  as 
large  as  one's  arm,  in  a  square  form,  guarding  the  fire;  and 
it  is  a  matter  of  etiquette  not  to  put  one's  feet  nearer  the  fire 
than  that  boundary.  One  or  more  pots  or  kettles  are  hung 
over  the  fire  on  the  crotch  of  a  sapling.  In  the  sides  of  the 
wigwam  are  stowed  all  the  clothing,  food,  cooking  utensils, 
and  other  property  of  the  family,  although  the  space  available 
is  extremely  small. 

CONVERSATION  WITH  VISITORS  AND  AMONG  THEMSELVES. 

The  owner  of  the  lodge  inquires  of  his  visitor  the  news; 
and  the  visitor  is  expected  to  tell  anything  interesting  that 
has  happened,  especially  if,  as  often  is  true,  the  wigwam  is  the 
only  one  for  five  or  ten  miles  distance.  He  tells,  not  the  gen- 
eral news  of  the  world,  of  which  neither  the  host  nor  the  vis- 
itor knows  anything,  or  indeed  would  be  particularly  inter- 
ested to  hear,  but  anything  that  has  happened  among  the  In- 
dians, as  deaths,  sickness,  or  what  the  other  families  of  In- 
dians known  to  both  are  doing.  If  he  comes  from  a  strange 
village,  as  from  Leech  lake  or  Red  lake,  he  tells  the  news  of 
that  village,  the  councilings  that  are  going  on,  the  subjects 
that  are  being  discussed.  Generally  each  Indian  man,  and 
often  the  wife,  knows  individually  the  men  and  women  of  all 
the  other  Indian  villages  within  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles  and 
is  interested  in  all.  The  coming  of  a  visitor  is  therefore  like  a 
newspaper,  by  which  the  host  posts  himself  to  date,  on  all 


64  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

that  is  going  on.  The  Indians  have  a  great  deal  of  curiosity, 
and  like  to  know  all  that  is  happening.  Although  a  man  may 
be  out  with  his  family,  hunting,  perhaps  ten  miles  from  any 
other  human  beings,  he  keeps  a  mental  register  of  the  position 
of  every  other  man  and  family,  and  seems  to  be  able  to  tell 
just  where  each  one  is,  no  matter  how  far  in  the  heart  of  the 
wilderness  he  is  buried,  or  what  he  is  doing.  The  probable 
nearness  or  remoteness  of  the  annual  payment  is  always  a  sub- 
ject of  interest,  and  generally  that  is  the  first  thing  inquired 
about 

Are  the  Indians  silent  and  reserved  in  their  domestic  life? 
Just  the  reverse.  There  is  continual  laughter,  and  jests  flying 
all  round  the  wigwam  from  the  time  they  wake  in  the  morning 
till  the  last  one  goes  to  sleep.  As  long  as  they  have  anything  to 
eat,  and  if  no  one  is  very  sick,  they  are  as  cheerful  and  happy 
as  can  be.  The  laughter  and  droll  remarks  pass  from  one  to 
the  other,  a  continual  fusillade  all  round.  The  old  woman  says 
something  funny;  the  children  take  it  up,  and  laugh  at  it;  all 
the  others  repeat  it,  each  with  some  embellishment,  or  adding 
some  ludicrous  feature,  and  thus  there  is  continual  merriment 
all  day  and  all  evening  long.  They  have  the  advantage  of  us 
in  having  the  cheerful  fire  shedding  its  light  and  warmth  upon 
them  instead  of  stoves;  and  there  being  no  chairs  or  seats, 
they  have  an  easier  position  than  we,  reclining  any  way  they 
please. 

AFFECTION  FOR  THEIR  CHILDREN. 

In  the  center  of  the  wigwam,  the  little  children  go  stagger- 
ing round,  just  beginning  to  walk,  whose  mishaps  and  falls 
furnish  endless  merriment  to  the  other  children  and  to  all. 
They  are  either  entirely  naked  or  wear  only  a  cotton  shirt 
reaching  to  the  hips,  once  white  but  now  black,  as  it  seems 
never  to  be  washed.  This  little  one,  with  its  bright  black 
eyes  and  dirty  face,  stumbles  in  a  droll  way  over  the  legs  of 
those  reclining;  then  itsi  father  takes  it  and  plays  with  it,  and 
fondles  it  a  long  time.  Then  it  gets  hungry  and  goes  and  takes 
a  pull  at  its  mother's  breast,  and  this  it  keeps  up  till  three 
or  four  years  of  age;  even  after  a  younger  baby  has  come,  the 
mother  nurses  both  together.  Sometimes  I  have  seen  the  old 
grandmother,  long  past  child-bearing,  take  and  nurse  the  large 
child  at  her  breast;   and  from  the  persistence  and  diligence 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  65 

with  which  it  worked,  its  wants  seemed  to  be  relieved.  The 
father  is  just  as  fond  of  his  little  children,  and  fondles  them 
just  as  much,  as  any  white  father. 

FOOD  AND  HOSPITALITY  AT  MEALS. 

Take  it  altogether,  life  is  very  happy  in  the  wigwam,  so 
long  as  hunger  does  not  invade  it  With  food  in  abundance, 
life  seems  to  be  a  continual  feast,  a  merry-making  all  day  long. 
None  of  them  seem  to  have  anything  to  do,  excepting  the  wife 
or  the  old  woman.  To  prepare  a  meal,  if  it  be  in  winter,  one 
of  these  goes  outside  and  from  somewhere  brings  in  the  frozen 
fish.  She  deftly  cleans  off  the  scales,  removes  the  entrails, 
and  cuts  the  fish  into  pieces,  which  she  puts  in  the  pot  over 
the  fire,  until  enough  for  a  meal  has  been  put  in.  Then,  if 
they  have  tea,  that  great  luxury,  as  it  is  considered  by  the 
Indians,  is  provided.  If  in  addition  they  have  flour,  hot  bread 
is  baked,  and  a  perfect  meal,  according  to  their  ideas,  is  pro- 
duced. The  woman  stirs  up  the  dough  in  a  tin  dish,  without 
kneading;  then  sets  it  up  slantwise  in  the  dish  on  the  ashes, 
facing  the  fire;  and  turns  occasionally  the  other  side  of  the 
cake  toward  the  fire,  testing  it  by  tapping  it  with  her  kunckle, 
until  she  sees  it  is  done.  Then  she  sets  a  plate  of  boiled  fish 
before  each  one  where  he  sits,  pours  out  tea  in  a  tin  cup,  and, 
if  they  have  it,  breaks  off  a  liberal  piece  of  warm  bread.  As 
there  are  no  tables  or  chairs,  the  housekeeping  is  easy  and 
simple,  and  the  woman  of  the  house  can  do  most  of  it  without 
rising  from  where  she  is  sitting.  Sometimes  there  is  only  fish, 
without  anything  else,  and  a  few  years  ago  that  was  consid- 
ered good  enough;  but  the  nearness  of  the  whites  has  pro- 
duced the  desire  for  a  more  varied  diet,  and  tea  and  bread  are 
now  thought  very  necessary.  Sometimes  I  have  seen  wildcat 
alone,  or  some  other  kind  of  flesh  alone,  if  the  head  of  the 
house  had  been  hunting;  and  everybody  seemed  to  be  satis- 
fied with  it.  There  is  never  any  dessert,  and  they  care  nothing 
for  pies  or  cakes. 

The  visitor  has  his  portion  set  before  him,  as  well  as  the 
others;  and  formerly  it  was  etiquette  for  him  to  say  when  the 
dish  was  set  before  him,  "Oongh  ondjita,"  which  might  roughly 
be  translated,  "O,  this  goes  to  the  right  spot."  The  0  jib  ways 
are  very  hospitable  indeed.    The  visitor  is  always  fed,  is  given 


66  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

a  share  without  question,  so  long  as  they  have  anything  them- 
selves. No  matter  if  he  be  utterly  lazy,  never  doing  a  stroke 
of  work,  or  if  he  be  a  gambler  and  has  just  come  from  the  game, 
he  seems  to  have  just  as  good  a  right  to  the  food  as  any  one 
who  is  there.  A  white  visitor  is  expected  to  pay  something, 
perhaps  ten  cents  for  the  meal,  or  twenty-five  cents,  but  the 
Indian  gets  it  as  a  matter  of  course.  Sometimes,  when  they 
wish  to  pay  great  respect  to  the  visitor,  a  white  cotton  cloth 
about  two  feet  square  is  spread  on  the  mat  where  he  sits,  and 
upon  it  his  food  is  placed.    That  is  the  tablecloth. 

There  are  no  regular  hours  for  eating;  just  whenever  they 
get  hungry  and  the  good  woman  prepares  something.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  articles  enumerated  above,  there  are  often  delicious 
wild  rice,  ducks,  venison,  potatoes,  or  boiled  corn.  There  may 
be  partridges,  or  moose  or  bear  meat,  or  many  delicacies. 
Often  one  will  get  as  delicious  and  well-cooked  a  meal  as  could 
be  found  anywhere.  They  are  all  very  good  cooks.  Especially 
do  they  excel  in  cooking  fish,  which  they  nearly  always  boil, 
but  sometimes  fry.  I  have  heard  excellent  white  women 
cooks,  who  had  lived  long  among  them,  say  that  an  Indian 
woman  could  give  a  turn  to  fish  that  no  white  woman  could 
equal.  After  the  meal  is  over  the  dishes  are  gathered  up  by 
the  women,  and  set  slantwise  on  their  edges  around  the  out- 
side  of  the  wigwam  until  the  next  meal. 

THE  DRUM  AND  CHANTS. 

Very  often  the  man  of  the  house,  tired  of  doing  nothing 
all  day,  takes  his  drum  out  of  the  bag  that  holds  it,  and  set- 
tling himself  begins  to  chant  or  sing,  accompanying  himself 
by  beating  his  drum.  He  has  many  different  kinds  of  chants, 
war  songs,  gambling  songs,  Sioux  songs,  songs  of  Sioux  and 
OjibwTays  approaching  each  other  with  offers  of  peace,  and 
many  others.  The  chant  is  very  intricate  and  beautiful.  He 
sings  it  with  his  face  directed  upward,  a  sort  of  ecstatic  look 
upon  it,  his  mouth  open,  the  drum  between  his  knees,  and  a 
sort  of  shaking  motion  of  his  body.  His  voice  is  loud,  high- 
pitched,  and  resonant;  on  a  still  evening  it  would  seem  that 
he  could  be  heard  for  a  mile.  The  little  children  look  at  him 
with  a  sort  of  entranced  wonder,  while  the  women  ply  their 
work  of  preparing  food,  tanning  a  skin,  or  making  beadwork 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  67 

or  moccasins.  He,  inspired  by  his  own  efforts,  naturally  feels 
himself  to  be  a  sort  of  superior  being.  At  last  lie  has  sung 
all  the  chants  he  knows,  chants  which  are  extremely  difficult 
for  the  most  practiced  musician  to  reduce  to  note  or  to  repro- 
duce ;  and  after  a  few  final  flourishes,  he  puts  the  drum  away, 
and  comparative  silence  once  more  reigns. 

SLEEPING  IN  THE  WIGWAM. 

Gradually  the  young  children  begin  to  grow  sleepy.  The 
mother  asks  the  little  one,  "Do  you  wish  to  lie  down?"  and 
holds  up  the  little  blanket  or  quilt  which  is  to  be  its  sole  cov- 
ering. She  wraps  it  round  the  child,  and  lays  it  down  on  the 
mat  beside  her,  tucking  the  blanket  in  under  its  feet  and  over 
its  head,  and  soon  the  little  oije  is  in  the  land  of  dreams. 
Gradually  the  older  children,  and  then  each  member  of  the 
family,  takes  his  or  her  blanket  and  a  pillow,  or  makes  a  pil- 
low out  of  something,  and  lies  down  in  the  place  he  or  she 
has  previously  occupied,  all  covering  up  the  head,  but  gen- 
erally leaving  the  feet  exposed  against  the  bright  fire.  In- 
dians always  sleep,  winter  and  summer,  with  their  heads 
tightly  covered  up.  It  seems  that  they  could  not  go  to  sleep 
otherwise.  White  people  living  with  them  soon  learn  the 
same  habit,  which  for  six  months  of  the  year  is  a  necessity. 
The  breathing  of  the  same  air  over  and  over  again  within  the 
blanket  does  not  seem  to  produce  any  bad  results;  and  the 
warm  breath  retained  adds  much  to  the  slender  stock  of  heat. 
Each  person  sleeps  alone  except  that  husband  and  wife  have 
one  blanket.  The  day  clothes  are  never  removed,  either  by 
men,  women,  or  children,  though  in  old  times  they  are  said 
to  have  been  removed.  They  are  said  to  have  formerly  slept 
naked,  rolled  in  their  blanket  only;  but  the  example  of  the 
French  voyageurs  changed  this.  Even  the  moccasins  sometimes 
are  not  removed.  In  a  long  sickness  of  weeks  or  months,  it 
is  common  for  the  sick  man  to  continue  to  wear  his  moccasins. 
The  feet  are  at  first  exposed  to  the  fire,  and  there  is  a  row  of 
them  all  round  it;  but  as  it  dies  down  the  sleepers  instinc- 
tively draw  them  up  under  the  blanket  and  tuck  it  in.  Often 
every  foot  of  the  wigwam  is  covered  with  the  prostrate  bodies. 
In  abont  an  hour  the  fire  of  the  winter  evening  dies  down, 
and  the  air  coming  in  through  the  open  top  and  the  many 


68  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

chinks  makes  it  almost  as  cold  in  the  wigwam  as  out  of  doors. 
It  may  be  anywhere  from  ten  to  thirty  degrees  below  zero  in- 
side and  yet  one  blanket,  old  and  worn  at  that,  and  not  warm, 
is  all  that  each  sleeper  has  to  cover  him.  Sometimes  a  thin 
quilt  is  spread  in  addition  over  the  lower  limbs,  but  one  blan- 
ket seems  to  be  the  regular  standard  allowance,  and  is  con- 
sidered enough.  The  wonder  is  that  they  survive  a  week  of 
such  cold,  but  they  do  not  seem  to  mind  it.  The  white  traveller 
who  has  been  hospitably  taken  in  has  his  thick  underclothing 
on,  moccasins  and  arctic  overshoes,  coat  and  fur  overcoat,  fur 
cap  pulled  over  his  ears,  a  warm  new  blanket  enveloping  all, 
head  and  foot,  so  that  his  breath  is  kept  in  like  all  the  rest  to 
add  the  greater  warmth;  and  yet  he  lies  there  shivering,  un- 
able to  sleep.  At  last  in  sheer  desperation  he  starts  up,  and 
begins  groping  round  the  door  of  the  wigwam  and  outside  it, 
trying  to  find  some  wood  to  make  a  fire  to  relieve  his  suffer- 
ings. Yet  all  around  him  are  sleeping  calmly  those  who  have 
on  only  a  cotton  shirt,  cotton  leggings,  and  the  one  thin  blan- 
ket; not  a  tithe  of  the  clothing  he  has.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
such  life,  long  continued,  puts  a  strain  on  the  constitution, 
especially  of  the  young.  Oftentimes  when  the  traveller  is  feel- 
ing round  for  wood,  a  child  will  rise,  throw  aside  its  blanket, 
and  stand  there  in  the  arctic  temperature,  coughing  and  again 
coughing.  Its  mother  will  rouse  for  a  minute,  and  say,  "My 
little  son,  are  you  cold?"  and  the  answer  will  come,  "Yes,  I  am 
almost  cold."  Such  a  hard  life,  even  though  it  be  not  consid- 
ered by  them  to  be  hard,  along  with  other  things,  accounts  for 
the  high  mortality  among  Indian  children. 

I  have  never  been  refused  admission,  and  the  privilege  of 
passing  the  night,  in  any  wigwam.  When  one  has  been  travel- 
ling all  day  through  the  virgin  forest,  in  a  temperature  far  be- 
low zero,  and  has  not  seen  a  house  nor  a  human  being  aad 
knows  not  where  or  how  he  is  to  pass  the  night,  it  is  the  most 
comforting  sight  in  the  whole  world  to  see  the  glowing  column 
of  light  from  the  top  of  the  wigwam  of  some  wandering  family 
out  hunting,  and  to  look  in  and  see  that  happy  group  bathed 
in  the  light  and  warmth  of  the  life-giving  fire.  No  princely 
hotel  in  a  great  city  can  equal  the  blessedness  of  that  wigwam. 
And  no  one,  whether  Ojibway  or  white,  is  ever  refused  admis- 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  69 

sion;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  made  heartily  welcome,  as  long 
as  there  is  an  inch  of  space. 

ENDURANCE  OP  COLD. 

The  Ojibway  women  wear  surprisingly  little  clothing,  even 
in  the  coldest  weather.  A  white  cotton  chemise,  a  calico  dress, 
and  a  petticoat,  are  all,  even  in  the  coldest  weather;  and,  of 
course,  the  blanket  over  all,  for  protection  and  ornament  by 
day,  and  for  a  complete  wrardrobe  by  night.  Besides  there  are 
mittens,  not  very  thick,  made  by  themselves,  usually  out  of 
old  pieces  of  cloth;  and  moccasins,  with  either  socks  or  pieces 
of  cloth  wrapped  round  the  foot  to  take  the  place  of  a  stock- 
ing. Every  winter  many  women,  along  with  the  men,  start, 
say  in  January,  to  visit  the  Indians  of  another  village  a  hun- 
dred miles  off,  either  travelling  on  foot  and  packing  their 
loads,  or  going  with  their  ox  teams  and  sleighs;  but  in  any 
case  they  camp  out  every  night,  about  four  or  five  times  each 
way.  They  enjoy  every  minute  of  it,  and  look  forward  to  it 
with  the  keenest  pleasure.  White  women,  on  the  contrary, 
going  over  the  road  in  a  stage  or  covered  sleigh,  wrapped  in 
furs  and  generally  managing  to  get  inside  some  sort  of  a  house 
at  night,  where  they  sleep  warm,  are  nearly  always  sick  at  the 
end  of  the  route.  To  have  gone  with  only  the  cotton  chemise 
and  calico  dress  and  blanket,  and  to  have  slept  out  with  only 
that  covering,  would  have  killed  them. 

The  Pembina  band  of  Ojibways  have  a  custom  of  putting 
out  the  fires,  and  sitting  all  day,  and  lying  all  night,  in  the  cold, 
for  a  few  days  before  setting  out  on  a  winter  journey,  in  order 
apparently  to  toughen  themselves  to  it.  None  of  the  other 
Ojibways  do  so.  It  may  be  that  because  the  former  are  prairie 
Indians,  and  so  are  exposed  to  the  more  severe  blasts  and 
greater  hardships,  they  have  adopted  this  method. 

When  an  Indian  is  travelling  and  camps  for  the  night,  he 
always  makes  a  fire,  if  possible,  and  if  he  has  a  fire  and  his 
blanket  he  considers  that  he  is  perfectly  comfortable  in  any 
weather.  If  for  any  reason  he  cannot  make  a  fire  he  curls  him- 
self up,  like  a  ball,  inside  his  blanket,  resting  only  on  his  back 
on  the  snow.  I  have  known  them  to  sleep  so  out  of  doors, 
without  a  fire,  when  the  temperature  was  forty  degrees  be- 
low zero,  in  the  coldest  nights  that  I  remember  in  Minnesota, 


70  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

and  yet  survive  and  continue  the  journey  the  next  morning. 
As  a  general  thing,  however,  the  Ojibway  considers  it  pretty 
hard,  and  himself  in  bad  case,  if  he  cannot  have  a  fire,  in  a 
cold  night,  sleeping  out  of  doors. 

Although  they  are  constantly  travelling  and  exposed  to 
blizzards  far  from  home  on  the  hunt,  I  cannot  recall  any  who 
have  frozen  to  death  in  the  last  twenty-five  years,  except  one. 
He  was  one  of  our  Indian  catechists  from  Canada,  in  charge 
of  the  Cass  Lake  church  and  mission,  George  Johnson.  On 
the  night  of  the  26th  of  February,  1897,  he  was  frozen  to  death 
while  hunting  deer.  The  thermometer  was  perhaps  forty  de- 
grees below  zero,  and  he  was  not  a  well  man,  having  heart  dis- 
ease. 

SUCCESSION   OF  OCCUPATIONS  DURING   THE   YEAR. 

From  the  time  when  spring  opens,  there  is  a  constant  suc- 
cession of  events  in  Indian  life,  covering  every  week  of  the 
year  until  the  winter  sets  in  severely.  These  I  cannot  give  in 
their  exact  order  and  sequence,  and  some  of  them  I  do  not 
know.  But,  roughly  speaking,  there  is  first  the  arrival  of  the 
crow,  about  March  20th,  the  Indian's  much  looked  for  sign 
that  grim  winter  is  over,  and  that  spring  is  at  hand.  When 
an  Indian  sees  the  crow,  he  knows  that  he  has  survived  the 
starving  time,  winter,  and  that  he  will  live;  for  he  can  always 
find  abundant  food  during  the  spring  and  summer  and  fall 
months.  The  seeing  of  the  first  crow  or  hearing  his  call  is 
therefore  an  occasion  of  great  rejoicing,  heralded  everywhere. 
There  is  always  anxious  inquiry  about  that  time,  whether 
anyone  has  seen  or  heard  a  crow.  Then  follows  moving  to  the 
sugar  maple  woods  and  the  making  of  maple  sugar  by  the 
women,  while  the  men  go  trapping  muskrats,  and  hunting 
generally.  The  women  are  so  fond  of  sugar-making  that  no 
power  and  no  money  could  keep  them  from  it.  The  children 
all  run  away  from  the  schools  about  the  22nd  of  March  and 
go  too.  All  are  overjoyed  to  be  living  once  more  "under  the 
greenwood  tree."  Often  in  their  haste  and  anxiety  they  move 
out  six  weeks  too  soon,  if  there  comes  a  spell  of  mild  weather, 
and  wait  there  freezing  and  starving.  The  sap  usually  begins 
to  run  April  5th,  and  the  buds  come  out  May  5th,  when  sugar- 
making  is  over.     Some  families  at  Leech  lake,  which  seems  to 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  71 

be  tlie  great  sugar-making  place,  make  2,000  pounds  each.  At 
Bed  lake  and  White  Earth  they  would  not  average  over  500 
pounds  a  family.  It  is  hard,  exhausting  work,  owing  to  the 
antiquated  methods  they  use,  of  deep  pots  and  kettles  instead 
of  evaporators.  No  explanation  can  induce  them  to  adopt  the 
latter.  Their  moccasins,  feet,  and  lower  limbs,  are  sopping 
wet  in  the  melting  snows  in  the  woods  for  a  month  or  six 
weeks;  and  they  sleep  so,  being  wet  all  the  time,  night  and 
day.  They  are  very  busy  carrying  sap  in  pails,  chopping  wood, 
and  keeping  up  fires  all  night  long.  The  exposure,  poor  food, 
and  exhausting  work,  are  a  great  strain  on  their  constitutions, 
and  a  good  many  die  every  year.  Especially  those  children 
who  have  been  kept  warm  in  schoolhouses  all  winter,  catch 
colds  from  being  continually  wet  and  sleeping  wet,  and  go 
off  into  quick  consumption.  I  knew  that  a  man  who  did  chores 
for  me  had  not  had  off  his  wet  moccasins  nor  his  feet  dry  once 
for  six  weeks,  night  or  day,  in  spring.  It  seemed  to  do  him 
no  harm,  but  would  have  killed  any  white  man. 

While  the  women  are  making  maple  sugar,  the  men  go  off 
fifty  or  a  hundred  miles  to  trap  muskrats  and  other  small 
animals.  Very  often  they  bring  back  about  one  hundred  dol- 
lars' worth  of  furs  apiece  in  a  month's  time.  Then  they  are 
with  their  women  for  some  time  at  the  end  of  sugar-making. 
Then  planting  whatever  potatoes  they  plant,  and  later  corn, 
comes  on.  Then  after  an  interval,  the  strawberries  are  ripe, 
and  successively  later  the  raspberries  and  blueberries.  Next 
is  the  taking  of  birch  bark  from  the  trees,  for  wigwams  and 
to  make  canoes;  then  hoeing  the  gardens;  then  pulling  rushes 
from  the  lakes  to  make  mats;  then  making  canoes;  then  gath- 
ering wild  rice,  and  afterward  cranberries.  All  these  imply 
journeys  to  the  places  where  these  happen  to  abound,  as 
twenty  or  perhaps  fifty  miles  and  back.  The  exact  succession 
of  these  events  I  cannot  recall,  but  each  has  its  own  particular 
time;  and,  taken  together,  they  occupy  the  entire  year  until 
cold  weather.  When  one  family  starts  for  the  particular 
berry  that  is  ripe  just  then,  or  for  the  particular  thing  that 
should  be  done,  that  starts  off  ail  the  others,  as  no  one  wishes 
to  be  left  behind.  This  is  heathen  life;  when  they  become 
Christians  and  farmers,  this  continual  wandering  life  becomes 
modified  to  a  certain  extent. 


72  HrNNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

When  the  cold  weather  begins  in  November  each  family 
usually  starts  off  ten  or  twenty  miles  for  a  prolonged  hunt 
They  stay  out  usually  till  January  1st,  when  the  severe  weather 
drives  them  home  to  their  winter  quarters.  Very  often  a  fam- 
ily claims  a  certain  spot  as  their  hunting  ground,  and  they 
go  to  it  year  after  year,  and  it  is  understood  that  no  other 
family  is  to  intrude  on  their  territory.  Of  course  they  take 
the  children  and  everything  with  them;  and  during  that  time 
they  always  live  in  birch  bark  wigwams.  They  kill  deer,  bear, 
moose,  and  many  other  animals,  and  live  high,  and  make  a 
great  deal  of  money  out  of  furs. 

Captain  Wallace,  who  was  killed  at  Wounded  Knee,  made 
an  investigation  of  the  Mille  Lacs  Indians,  and  found  that 
from  all  sources,  furs,  wild  rice,  venison,  etc.,  the  Indians  of 
Mille  Lacs  got  hold  of  a  great  deal  more  money  in  the  course 
of  a  year  than  the  average  white  farmer.  The  same  is  doubt- 
less true  of  all  the  Indians.  In  the  course  of  a  year  they  have 
up  to  this  time,  from  various  sources,  got  hold  of  a  great  deal 
of  money.  It  is  a  mistake  to  try  to  force  them  to  be  farmers 
only,  as  our  government  has  heretofore  seemed  to  try  to  do. 
Farming  is  too  hard  work,  and  means  too  long  waiting  for  re- 
turns. They  like  very  much  better  something  which  brings 
quick  returns,  as  they  had  in  their  old  life. 

FREQUENT  SCARCITY  OF  FOOD  IN  WINTER. 

From  January  1st  till  the  crows  come,  about  March  20th, 
the  Indian  remains  quiet  in  his  log  house,  in  his  village,  to 
which  he  has  returned,  with  nothing  particular  to  do.  Then, 
if  at  all,  especially  towards  spring,  is  his  starving  time.  The 
snow  is  deep,  there  is  no  game  to  be  got,  the  produce  of  the 
little  fields  has  been  eaten  up,  also  the  wild  rice  and  the  flesh 
that  was  brought  from  the  hunt.  If  pains  have  not  been  taken 
to  lay  in  an  ample  stock  of  frozen  fish  in  November,  there  is 
apt  to  be  hunger;  for  it  is  very  hard  or  impossible  to  take 
fish  now  under  the  great  depth  of  snow  and  ice.  The  wife  of 
one  of  our  Indian  clerygmen  told  me  that  oftentimes  in  the 
village  where  they  were  missionaries,  Cass  Lake,  no  one  had 
anything  to  eat  but  themselves,  sometimes  for  three  days  at  a 
time.  This  of  course  was  owing  to  their  own  improvidence,  for 
a  very  few  days'  labor  would  have  raised  all  the  corn  and  po^ 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  73 

tatoes  they  could  use;  or  a  few  days'  fishing  in  November, 
when  the  winter's  supply  of  fish  is  taken,  would  have  put  them 
beyond  want  And  it  does  not  apply  to  all  the  villages,  but 
to  that  one  in  which  the  people  were  the  most  improvident  of 
all.  Oftentimes  when  suffering  severely  from  hunger  in  the 
dead  of  winter,  they  bitterly  lament  their  own  improvidence 
in  not  having  planted  some  corn  and  potatoes,  and  vow  that 
if  they  live  through  till  spring  they  will  do  differently,  and 
provide  food  enough  for  the  next  winter.  But  when  the 
abundance  of  summer  comes,  the  starving  of  the  past  winter 
is  forgotten,  and  the  time  is  passed  in  dancing  and  pleasure, 
with  no  thought  for  the  future  and  no  provision  made  for  it. 
All  the  Indians  who  are  middle-aged  recall  the  severe  starva- 
tion to  which  when  young  they  were  periodically  subjected, 
and  through  which  they  hardly  lived.  Yet  these  severe  les- 
sons did  not  lead  them  to  provide,  what  they  might  so  easily 
have  provided,  abundance. 

HABIT  OF  GOING  IN  DEBT. 

Since  the  first  French  traders  came  among  the  Ojibways, 
it  was  their  custom  to  outfit  the  Indian  for  the  hunt,  to  give 
him  in  advance  ammunition,  tobacco,  and  everything  he  needed 
as  clothing  for  himself  and  for  his  family.  When  he  brought 
back  his  pack  of  furs  he  paid  this  debt  with  them,  and  imme- 
diately took  a  fresh  debt  upon  him,  as  much  as  his  trader 
would  permit.  This  has  come  down  to  the  present  day,  and 
has  become  ingrained,  so  that  every  Ojibway  goes  in  debt  to 
his  trader  just  as  deeply  as  he  will  allow  him.  It  is  not  con- 
sidered right  to  contract  a  second,  third  or  fourth  debt,  to  as 
many  different  traders;  and  the  traders  often  have  a  tacit 
understanding  among  themselves  to  prevent  that,  nevertheless 
it  is  frequently  done,  and  very  generally  attempted.  The  Ojib- 
way is  no  more  dishonest  than  any  other  man,  but  owing  to 
the  vicious  system  in  which  he  has  been  brought  up,  of  going 
in  debt  all  that  his  trader  will  allow  him,  and  also  owing  to 
his  usually  not  working,  and  so  having  nothing  to  pay  with, 
he  is  usually  deeply  in  debt,  and  finds  his  necessities  driving 
him  to  go  in  debt  more.  The  experience  of  the  traders  with 
the  heathen  Indians  is  that  every  man  is  trying  to  go  in  debt 
all  he  can,  while  the  payment  is  slow  and  with  many  doubtful. 


74  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

As  the  traders  express  it,  "Every  man  is  striving  to  get  some- 
thing for  nothing."  The  annuity  also  that  was  promised  to 
them  under  the  Kice  treaty  of  1889,  has  operated  disastrously 
to  them  in  that  way,  as  in  many  others,  for  the  Indian  goes 
in  debt  on  the  strength  of  his  annuity,  and  many  persons  will 
trust  him  on  the  strength  of  it;  so  it  is  usually  swallowed  up 
many  times  over  beforehand.  And  being  very  small,  at  the 
most  only  $9.20,  it  operates  as  a  bait  to  go  in  debt  on  the 
strength  of  it,  rather  than  as  a  help.  Many  Ojibways,  how- 
ever, are  conscientious  to  make  payment,  and  it  is  astonishing 
to  us  how  much  their  traders  will  allow  them  to  go  in  debt. 
Some  of  them  go  in  debt  to  the  amount  of  $200,  with  no  prop- 
erty in  the  world  but  a  gun  and  some  traps,  and  they  pay  it 
The  traders,  being  mixed-bloods,  understand  getting  it  out 
of  them;  but  it  is  doubtful  that  a  white  man  could. 

CHIEFS  AND  ORATORS. 

The  office  of  chief  does  not  now  amount  to  anything,  owing 
to  the  great  numbers  of  chiefs  that  have  recently  been  created 
by  United  States  Indian  agents.  Formerly  there  were  only 
two  or  three  chiefs  of  the  whole  Ojibway  nation;  now  some 
chiefs  enroll  only  eight  in  their  band,  counting  men,  women, 
and  children.  The  chiefs  are  no  wiser  nor  better  than  the 
mass  of  the  people,  but  rather  inferior  to  them  if  anything. 
It  is  now  a  mere  honorary  title,  without  power  or  authority. 

We  hear  much  said  of  the  eloquence  of  the  Indians.  Many 
of  them  are  good  and  ready  speakers  and  present  things  clearly 
and  forcibly.  They  do  not  much  use  the  metaphors  and  sim- 
iles that  popular  imagination  has  credited  them  with,  but 
talk  like  sensible  and  therefore  truly  eloquent  men.  While 
many  are  admirable  speakers,  there  is  only  one  who  is  a  gen- 
ius, a  truly  remarkably  eloquent  man.  He  is  the  Chief  Wendji- 
madub  (Where  he  moves  from  sitting),  or,  as  his  French  name 
is,  Joseph  Charette.  He  lives  at  White  Earth,  and  is  about 
fifty-five  years  of  age.  He  has  a  little  French  blood.  I  con- 
sider him  perhaps  the  best  speaker,  the  greatest  orator,  I  have 
ever  met.  Although  without  education— he  does  not  know  a 
letter — his  powers  are  remarkable.  He  has  all  the  vehemence, 
the  fire,  the  energy,  command  of  language,  range  of  thought, 
of  the  true  orator.   As  another  said,  "Every  word  comes  like  an 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  75 

electric  spark  from  his  heart."    I  think  he  would  be  considered 
a  wonderful  speaker  in  any  nation. 

The  lineal  descendant  of  the  old  hereditary  chiefs  of  the 
Ojibways  lives  at  White  Earth,  Mesh-a-ki-gi-zhick  (Sky  reach- 
ing to  the  ground  all  round).  He  is  now  about  sixty-eight 
years  of  age,  a  remarkably  fine  looking  man,  with  a  strong, 
typical  Indian  face.  He  would  attract  notice  anywhere.  He 
is  a  man  of  many  noble  qualities. 

There  was  one  of  the  chiefs  who  towered  above  all  the 
others  in  the  great  nobility  of  his  nature,  and  who  fulfilled 
any  ideal  of  the  nobility  of  the  Indian  that  Cooper  or  any 
other  person  ever  drew.  That  was  Med-we-gan-on-int,  the 
head  chief  of  Red  Lake,  who  has  just  died,  at  the  age  of  about 
eighty-four  years.  He  was  made  by  nature  one  of  the  greatest 
men  in  mind  and  body  that  I  think  I  have  ever  seen.  He  was 
of  commanding  stature,  six  feet  four  inches,  and  of  imposing 
presence.  Nobility  was  stamped  upon  all  his  actions  and 
words  and  in  his  looks.  It  would  seem  that  he  could  never 
have  done  a  mean  thing.  He  was  very  level-headed,  true  to 
his  friends,  patient  under  seeming  neglect,  unselfish,  and  of 
such  a  broad  vision  and  sound  judgment  as  would  have  made 
him  an  ideal  ruler  anywhere.  His  distinguishing  character- 
istic was  his  wonderful  judgment  Amid  all  the  perplexing 
questions  that  he  had  to  deal  with,  and  where  the  wisest  man, 
white  or  Indian,  could  hardly  discern  what  was  the  proper 
thing  to  do,  his  unerring  judgment  infallibly  picked  out  the 
true  path  among  so  many  misleading  ones  and  followed  it 
He  never  was  carried  off  his  balance,  never  mistook  the  trail. 
He  was  as  sagacious  as  Washington  himself.  Even  when  he 
was  a  heathen  man,  he  was  always  noble.  For  the  last  twenty 
years  of  his  life  he  was  a  Christian.  When  Christianity  came 
to  his  village,  he  at  once  accepted  it,  and  had  all  his  children, 
grandchildren,  and  relatives  do  likewise. 

When  a  young  man  he  was  a  great  warrior  and  hunter  and 
of  remarkable  bodily  powers.  A  young  man  came  out  from 
Washington,  provided  with  instruments  to  measure  Indians 
for  the  Columbian  exposition;  but  the  width  of  the  chief's 
shoulders,  the  length  of  his  arms,  the  size  of  his  head  and 
chest,  made  all  the  measuring  instruments  useless.  He  told 
the  writer  that  when,  as  a  young  man,  he  picked  up  his  canoe 


76  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

and  inverted  it  over  his  head,  he  would  not  lay  it  down  for 
twenty  miles.  About  two  miles  is  as  far  as  most  men,  even 
the  strongest,  wish  to  carry  a  canoe,  without  a  rest.  He  was 
no  orator,  and  said  very  little;  but  when  he  did  say  a  few 
words,  that  ended  the  matter.  All  felt  that  "Daniel  had  come 
to  judgment"  He  alone  of  all  chiefs  was  revered  and  obeyed 
by  all  the  people.  He  was  free  from  all  the  weaknesses  which, 
in  different  forms,  attached  to  all  the  others,  as  they  do  to  all 
men,  and  he  towered  over  them  all.  Looking  back  on  his 
career  closed,  one  sees  that  he  was  made  by  nature  and  his 
Creator  a  truly  great  man.  It  was  his  delight  to  go  every 
summer,  on  foot,  even  up  to  eighty  years  of  age,  with  a  party 
of  men  of  his  band,  hundreds  of  miles  over  the  prairies  to  visit 
the  Piegan  Indians.  He  could  not  understand  a  word  they 
said,  but  they  were  relatives,  he  said;  their  fathers  had 
hunted  together  long  ago,  and  the  pleasure  of  seeing  them 
was,  to  him,  great.  His  nature  craved  that  excursion  on  the 
boundless  prairies  every  year.  He  pointed  out  places  on  the 
White  Earth  reservation  where  the  Sioux  had  chased  him,  and 
the  clumps  of  poplars  where  he  hid  from  them  and  was  safe. 

THE  OJIBWATS  OP  RED  LAKE. 

About  eight  hundred  Ojibways  live  along  the  south  shore 
of  Red  lake,  and  about  four  hundred  on  the  long  point  at  the 
Narrows  between  the  southern  and  northern  parts  of  the  lake. 
The  houses  of  those  living  on  the  south  shore  are  built  by 
themselves  of  logs,  plastered  with  clay,  being  small  and  with 
one  room  only.  A  feature  of  the  Eed  Lake  home  is  the  chim- 
ney, made  by  themselves  out  of  a  whitish  clay.  It  burns  a 
very  great  deal  of  wood,  but  is  admirable.  There  are  no  chairs, 
tables,  beds,  or  stoves,  in  the  house;  but  there  is  a  board 
floor  cleanly  swept,  with  rush  mats  all  round,  on  which  the 
inmates  sit,  eat,  and  sleep.  The  chimney  is  in  the  corner  far- 
thest from  the  door,  and  nothing  can  exceed  the  warmth,  com- 
fort, and  cheerfulness  of  a  Red  Lake  home  on  a  winter  even- 
ing when  the  bright  fire  in  the  chimney  floods  the  room  with 
light  and  heat.  The  wood  is  pine,  cut  four  feet  long,  and  is 
placed  on  end  in  the  chimney.  It  ignites  readily,  and  burns 
with  a  bright  flame.  The  family  or  families  and  visitors  are 
sitting  all  round  on  the  mats,  with  their  bed-covering  neatly 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  77 

folded  up  by  the  wall,  and  animated  conversation  and  cheerful 
laughter  are  heard  on  every  side.  No  enjoyment  that  we  have 
in  our  homes,  with  the  fire  shut  up  in  an  iron  box,  is  equal  to 
the  flooded  light  and  warmth  of  the  Bed  Lake  home.  The 
food — it  may  be  boiled  corn  alone  or  perhaps  with  fish — is 
neatly  and  cleanly  served  on  plates  laid  on  the  mats,  beside 
each  person. 

It  takes  a  great  pile  of  wood  to  keep  the  fire  going  in  the 
open  chimney  for  twenty-four  hours.  It  is  the  business  of  the 
women  to  supply  it.  Every  day  one  can  see,  about  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  long  strings  of  women,  each  with  her  ax  and 
packing  strap,  going  out  into  the  woods  perhaps  a  mile;  soon 
the  woods  are  vocal  with  the  axes;  and  then  equally  long 
strings  of  women  are  seen  issuing  from  the  woods,  each  with 
her  load  upon  her  back,  and  each  woman  packs  an  immense 
quantity.  This  is  thrown  down  at  the  door  of  the  house,  and 
brought  in  as  needed.  If  a  woman  at  Red  lake  meets  a  man 
on  the  path,  she  goes  off  to  one  side,  perhaps  into  the  snow 
above  her  knees,  about  four  feet  from  the  path,  and  there  pa- 
tiently waits  for  the  man  to  pass. 

The  Red  Lake  Indians  are  the  most  industrious  of  all  the 
Indians;  they  are  apt  to  be  always  doing  something  to  make 
a  living.  They  will  starve  with  the  seed  corn  by  them,  rather 
than  eat  it.  They  have  raised  quantities  of  corn  in  their  little 
fields  by  the  shore  of  the  lake,  for  a  hundred  years  past,  plant- 
ing the  same  ground  over  and  over  again,  and  it  does  not  seem 
to  be  exhausted.  Sometimes  the  land  is  not  even  plowed,  or 
hoed  over  deeply,  for  the  new  crop,  but  just  planted  as  it  is. 
Along  in  the  7Q's  one  could  see  strings  of  women  packing  corn 
on  their  backs  a  distance  of  five  miles  or  more,  to  sell  it  to 
the  traders  at  a  cent  a  pound  for  goods.  As  the  railroad  was 
then  far  from  Red  lake,  perhaps  a  hundred  miles,  the  prices 
of  the  provisions  they  got  in  exchange  for  their  corn  were 
very  high,  flour  f 5  a  sack,  common  tea  50  cents  a  pound,  four 
or  five  pounds  of  pork  for  a  dollar,  and  sugar  about  the  same, 
so  that  their  corn  brought  them  very  little,  only  equal  to  a 
small  fraction  of  a  cent  a  pound. 

The  four  hundred  Ojibways  at  the  Narrows  lived  in  a  more 
heathenish  way,  in  those  days,  than  any  others  of  this  people. 
There  was  the  log  house,  but  extremely  small,  and  extremely 


78  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

filthy  and  ill-smelling,  never  swept  nor  tidied,  but  having  all 
sorts  of  refuse  inside.  The  inmates  looked  unwashed  and  un- 
kempt; the  children  wore  no  clothes,  or  only  the  white  cotton 
shirt,  if  any;  and  the  grown  up  people  in  summer  wore  very  lit- 
tle. Instead  of  glass  a  piece  of  white  cotton  cloth  would  be  nailed 
across  the  window,  as  in  many  other  villages  where  they  are 
poor.  They  have  always  a  particularly  abundant  supply  of 
fish  there;  and  they  lived  on  fish  alone,  sometimes1  for  months 
without  even  salt.  They  did  not  seem  to  crave  even  salt.  Yet 
they  seemed  to  be  perfectly  healthy.  They  have  a  splendid 
rich  black  loam  soil,  much  finer  than  I  have  seen  anywhere 
else  in  the  Red  Lake  region,  bearing  a  magnificent  deciduous 
forest.  Anything  they  plant  grows  to  the  greatest  perfection. 
Around  their  villages  we  saw  images  of  birds,  etc.,  their 
protecting  deities  to  ward  off  ill  luck  and  sickness.  The  gam- 
bling drum  and  the  medicine  drum  were  always  sounding; 
and  all  they  wanted  was  to  be  left  undisturbed  in  their  hea- 
thenish ways.  They  would  have  no  school,  church,  or  mission. 
We  saw  women  sitting  round  a  fire  in  the  night.  That  was 
where  a  person  had  died  within  three  days;  the  wigwam  had 
been  pulled  down,  and  they  had  made  a  fire,  because  then  the 
soul  on  its  way  to  its  future  abode  would  have  a  fire  and  be 
comfortable.  If  they  made  no  fire,  the  season  being  winter, 
the  departed  soul  would  have  no  fire,  and  its  sufferings  could 
be  imagined.  After  three  days  it  was  no'  longer  necessary,  for 
the  soul  had  reached  its  abode.  When  a  mother  puts  her 
little  hoys  to  sleep  at  night,  she  first  draws  what  seems  to  be 
a  quart  of  water  into  her  mouthy  and  then  squirts  it,  with  force 
enough  apparently  to  turn  a  mill  wheel,  into  the  ears  of  each, 
first  on  one  side  of  the  head  and  then  on  the  other.  That  is 
to  keep  off  evil  spirits.  She  feels  that  she  can  keep  house  just 
to  perfection,  and  can  raise  children  just  as  they  ought  to  be 
raised.  The  unusual  heathenism  of  the  Indians  at  the  Nar- 
rows arises  from  their  living  in  such  a  remote  place,  where 
civilization  has  never  penetrated.  A  few  years  ago  they  were 
living  apparently  as  they  did  when  Columbus  landed. 

THE  OJIBWAYS  OF  CASS  AND  LEECH  LAKES. 

The  life  of  the  Indians  at  Cass  Lake  differs  little  from 
that  of  the  others,  except  that  they  are  the  most  improvident 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  79 

of  all  the  Indians,  They  raise  very  little  corn  or  potatoes  and 
therefore  suffer  most  frequently  and  severely  from  starvation. 
All  through  the  spring,  summer  and  fall,  food  provided  by  the 
bounty  of  nature,  as  venison,  moose-meat,  wild  rice,  and  fish, 
is  extremely  abundant;  and  they  then  forget  the  long  cold 
winter,  and  the  need  to  provide  for  it.  Many  families  start  in 
to  pass  the  winter  without  even  a  potato  or  any  other  food 
ahead.  Their  sufferings  in  consequence  are  severe,  year  after 
year. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  homes  at  Leech  lake,  which  are 
very  different,  the  heathen  and  the  Christian.  The  former  is  a 
small  log  shanty,  with  earthen  floor,  and  so  low  that  one  can 
touch  the  roof.  There  is  no  fireplace,  but  an  old  broken  cook- 
ing stove  and  also  a  heating  stove.  There  is  no  bed,  table, 
nor  chair,  but  the  usual  mats.  The  house  is  never  swept  nor 
cleaned  in  any  way;  the  day  clothing  and  bed  coverings  are 
as  dirty  as  they  can  be;  and  spittle  and  hawkings  from  the 
throat  and  nose  are  everywhere  so  that  one  cannot  sit  down, 
or  put  his  hand  anywhere,  without  touching  them.  The  house 
is  nearly  as  full  of  people  as  it  can  hold;  sometimes  big  girls 
and  young  women  lolling  over  each  other,  and  in  each  other's 
laps.  The  old  man  is  smoking,  and  the  young  man  may  be 
painting  his  face,  greasing  his  hair,  and  tying  sleigh  bells 
round  his  ankles  for  a  dance.  The  drum  is  tied  in  a  bag  sus- 
pended, and  there  is  a  pack  of  cards.  Everything  speaks  of 
idleness,  heathenism,  and  filthiness.  There  is  one  dim  window 
light,  and  the  place  is  dark  and  forbidding. 

The  Christian  home  at  Leech  lake  is  also  a  log  house,  but 
it  is  large,  light,  and  airy.  There  is  a  board  floor,  and  it  is  so 
clean  you  might  bake  bread  on  it  any  time,  it  being  scrubbed 
to  whiteness;  there  are  a  table,  chairs,  cook  stove  and  heat- 
ing stove.  The  bed  in  one  corner  looks  clean  and  inviting, 
and  it  is  as  well  made  as  any  white  woman  could  make  hers, 
and  has  decorated  pillow  shams.  Pictures  are  on  the  walls, 
and  altogether  it  is  an  inviting  home  that  anyone  might  be 
pleased  to  live  in.  The  meals  are  nicely  served,  on  a  clean 
white  tablecloth,  and  in  clean  dishes.  There  is  nice  warm 
bread,  pork,  potatoes,  and  tea.  The  comfort  and  cleanliness 
are  quite  equal  or  superior  to  those  of  the  average  white  set- 


80  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

tier.  The  inmates  are  cleanly  dressed,  the  man  has  a  white 
shirt,  and  they  look  respectable.  The  reason  of  the  difference 
is  that  they  are  Christians. 

HEARTINESS  IN  EATING,  AND  FISH  THE  STAPLE  FOOD. 

If  the  Ojibway  can  get  flesh,  as  venison  or  beef,  he  likes  it 
best  of  all  and  will  make  his  meal  almost  exclusively  of  it.  I 
have  seen  a  woman,  lately  delivered  of  an  infant,  eat  what 
seemed  to  me  to  be  two  pounds  of  beef,  without  anything  else, 
and  it  did  her  good. 

We  hear  a  great  deal  of  how  much  Indians  eat  The  Ojib- 
way eats  no  more  than  any  other  man,  when  once  his  hunger 
is  satisfied.  Often  he  has  had  very  little  to  eat  for  a  long  time, 
and,  like  any  of  us,  he  would  make  a  good  hearty  meal  when 
he  does  get  to  good  food.  The  Indian  children  in  a  school  do 
not  eat  as  much  as  white  children  when  once  they  get  filled  up. 

The  Ojibway's  staple  food  now  is  fish.  Every  morning  the 
first  thing  the  woman  living  on  Leech  lake,  Cass  lake,  or  Win- 
nibigoshish,  does  when  she  awakes  is  to  take  her  paddle,  jump 
into  her  canoe,  and  draw  her  nets.  Usually  she  takes  more 
fish  than  they  can  use.  Indians  have  averred  to  me  that  no 
Indians  living  on  those  lakes  were  ever  hungry,  and  that  if  any 
said  they  were  they  lied.  With  a  very  little  forethought  in 
laying  in  a  supply  of  fish,  no  one,  I  am  sure,  need  ever  suffer 
hunger.  In  the  fall,  when  the  lakes  are  just  freezing  up,  is 
the  time  of  their  laying  in  their  supply  of  fish  for  the  winter. 
An  Indian  woman  at  Leech  lake  lately  told  me  that  she  set 
her  nets  four  nights  at  that  time  and  caught  eight  hundred 
splendid  tullibees,  a  species  of  white  fish.  That  was  about 
the  usual  catch.  Every  family  can  take  an  unlimited  quan- 
tity, for  winter  use,  at  that  season.  They  are  hung  up  by  the 
tails  to  freeze  dry.  In  front  of  every  house  on  the  lakes  at 
that  season  is  a  rude  frame,  with  thousands  of  fish  hung  on 
rods  driven  through  the  tails,  the  winter's  supply  of  food.  Out 
of  the  1,000  Indians  at  Leech  lake,  only  one  man  was  ever 
known  to  draw  or  set  a  net;  it  is  left  exclusively  to  women. 

What  then  is  the  life  of  the  Ojibway  man  in  his  native 
state?  I  mean  the  heathen  man.  The  only  thing  he  does 
that  ever  I  could  see,  is  to  hunt  a  little,  in  spring  and  fall. 
Occasionally  a  man  will  be  found  who  will  raise  some  corn  and 


THE  OJ1BWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  81 

potatoes.  The  rest  of  Ms  time,  when  not  hunting,  is  spent  in 
gambling;  or  in  lying  on  his  mat  in  the  house  or  wigwam,  gos- 
siping; or  in  visiting  other  wigwams  or  bands  of  Indians;  or, 
for  some  part,  in  dancing.  He  also  spends  a  good  deal  of  time 
in  drumming  and  singing.  The  woman  is  the  bread-winner 
of  the  family. 

O  JIB  WAY  GAMBLING;    FEASTS  AND  COUNCILS;    HIS  IDEAL. 

He  does  not  think  gambling  any  harm;  he  has  been  used 
to  it  all  his  life.  If  in  winter,  it  is  done  in  his  wigwam  or 
house,  where  he  is  warm;  if  in  summer,  out  of  doors.  A 
blanket  is  spread,  beside  which  from  one  to  three  drummers, 
holding  aloft  small  drums  in  their  hands,  keep  drumming  and 
singing  the  gambling  chant  or  song  while  the  game  goes  on. 
Usually,  when  approaching  a  village,  one  can  hear  the  gam- 
bling drums  at  a  long  distance;  and  coming  nearer  he  finds 
the  men  collected  in  a  group,  the  gamblers,  who  may  be  six  or 
eight  in  number,  hard  at  their  business,  and  the  rest  of  the 
men  interested  spectators  around  them.  As  fast  as  the  drum- 
mers are  exhausted  with  the  continual  high-pitched  singing, 
others  are  substituted  for  them.  They  do  not  seem  to  be  able 
to  gamble  well  without  the  drumming  and  singing.  The 
women  of  the  village  are  all  quietly  going  about  their  work, 
but  no  man  is  doing  anything;  they  have  all  been  attracted 
by  the  game.  The  gamblers  often  seem  to  have  a  kind  of  fit 
on  when  engaged  in  it;  their  bodies  seem  to  be  disjointed,  and 
each  particular  limb  to  be  shaking  a  shake  of  its  own.  The 
game  often  lasts  three  days,  and  till  it  is  finished  they  hardly 
take  time  to  eat  or  sleep.  The  stakes  are  anything  a  man 
has,  his  gun,  his  blanket,  his  coat.  I  have  sometimes  seen  a 
man  go  through  the  winter  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  who  had 
gambled  away  his  coat.  One  man  took  off  and  gambled  away 
his  only  pair  of  pants.  It  is  usually  done  in  their  own  way, 
the  bullet  and  moccasin  game;  but  some  use  cards.  The  little 
boys  begin  at  a  very  early  age,  and  sometimes  the  women  gam- 
ble in  their  houses  or  in  the  street;  but  the  women  are  not 
nearly  such  incessant  gamblers  as  the  men. 

Sometimes  the  heathen  Ojibway  goes  through  a  perform- 
ance manifesting  forth  to  himself  and  to  others  that  he  is  a 


82  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

god,  that  he  has  supernatural  powers.  He  sits  down  outside, 
collects  all  the  movable  articles  around  him,  and  keeps  them 
flying  into  the  air,  tossing  them  about  and  all  around  in  every 
conceivable  manner.  His  admiration  of  himself  grows  as  he 
witnesses  his  miraculous  performances  until  he  comes  to  look 
on  himself  as  indeed  a  god. 

In  every  Indian  village  there  is  always  something  going 
on.  Some  are  striving  for  superiority,  just  as  it  is  among  our- 
selves; and  others  are  trying  to  pull  them  down.  Every  day 
the  men  meet  to  discuss  matters;  there  is  continual  council- 
ing.  One  of  our  Indian  clergymen  who  lived  at  Red  lake 
twelve  years  said  that  never  once  in  that  time  did  there  cease 
to  be  something  going  on,  that  took  up  their  attention.  Often 
when  sitting  in  the  wigwam  one  will  see  the  blanket  door 
pulled  aside  for  a  moment,  a  face  appears,  and  "You  are  in- 
vited to  a  feast"  is  said  to  the  good  man  of  the  house.  He 
thereupon  rises,  picks  up  a  wooden  mug  and  spoon,  and  goes. 
The  feast  consists  probably  of  whole  boiled  corn,  and  perhaps 
fish,  of  wThich  the  guest  gets  a  mugfull;  but  there  is  some- 
thing to  be  talked  about  that  seems  vitally  important  to  them. 
Of  late  years  electing  some  of  their  number  to  go  to  Wash- 
ington about  their  affairs  takes  months  of  counciling,  and 
keeps  their  minds  continually  on  the  stretch. 

Then  sometimes  it  takes  the  man  many  hours  in  a  day  to 
paint  his  face  properly  for  the  dance,  and  to  oil  his  hair  and 
arrange  his  head-dress  of  feathers.  So  his  time  is  very  fully 
occupied.  In  summer  he  goes  off  a  hundred  miles  or  more  to 
visit  another  band  of  Chippewas;  or  he  goes  to  visit  the  Sioux 
two  or  three  hundred  miles  away,  and  is  gone  most  of  the 
summer.     So  his  time  slips  away,  and  he  effects  nothing. 

The  conception  of  life  by  the  Ojibway  and  by  the  white 
man  is  fundamentally  different.  The  white  man's  thought  is 
to  do  something,  to  achieve  something;  the  Indian's  is  that 
life  is  one  long  holiday.  He  has  no  wish  for  any  improvement, 
nor  to  live  differently;  he  just  wishes  to  take  his  ease  and 
enjoy  himself.  He  sees  the  white  lumberman,  for  instance, 
out  two  miles  from  his  logging  camp,  waiting  for  daylight  to 
begin  work;  sees  him  toiling  all  day,  "dinnering  out,"  and  go- 
ing home  tired,  in  the  dark,  to  his  logging  camp.  The  Ojib- 
way thinks  he  has  a  far  better  way,  he  has  been  lying  in  his 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  83 

wigwam  all  day,  enjoying  himself,  warm  and  comfortable.  If 
he  gets  hungry,  he  goes  out  and  catches  a  rabbit,  for  there  are 
a  plenty  of  rabbits  everywhere.  So  he  finds  far  more  enjoy- 
ment in  his  life  than  he  would  in  the  toiling,  slaving  life  of  the 
white  man. 

INDUSTRY  OP  THE  WOMEN;    THEIR  SERVILE  POSITION. 

The  Ojibway  woman,  on  the  other  hand,  is  industrious, 
especially  the  middle-aged  and  old  woman.  Besides  fishing 
for  the  family,  the  women  usually  raise  all  the  corn  and  po- 
tatoes raised,  put  away  the  produce  of  the  gardens,  gather 
the  wild  rice,  and,  generally  speaking,  do  all  the  work.  The 
women  every  afternoon,  as  was  before  stated,  take  their  axes, 
chop  the  wood,  and  carry  it  to  the  lodge  door  with  their  pack- 
ing straps.  It  may  be  a  short  or  a  long  distance.  If  the 
woods  have  all  been  cut  away  near  the  village,  and  if  there 
are  ponies  as  at  White  Earth,  Leech  lake,  and  other  places, 
then  ponies  are  used  to  bring  it;  but  when  the  logs  have 
been  deposited  at  the  door,  the  woman  always  takes  her  ax 
and  chops  it.  No  family  ever  thinks  of  keeping  a  day's  wood 
ahead;  so  if  there  is  a  blizzard  and  excessive  cold,  say  at 
Leech  lake,  every  pony  and  sled  that  can  be  ..mustered  has  to  be 
out  in  the  midst  of  the  blizzard  on  the  ice  going  for  wood.  It 
is  that  or  freeze. 

The  women,  though  far  superior  to  the  men  in  point  of  use- 
fulness, and  it  seems  to  me  their  equals  in  bodily  strength,  are 
made  to  occupy  a  position  of  great  inferiority.  The  woman 
always  walks  behind  the  man;  and  she  turns  out  of  the  path 
for  a  man  when  she  meets  him.  At  a  feast  women  never  sit 
with  the  men;  even  the  young  boys  have  to  be  served  first; 
and  then,  last  of  all,  the  women,  who  have  had  all  the  labor  of 
preparing  the  feast,  can  sit  down  and  consume  the  fragments. 
Even  the  exclamations  of  the  language  are  not  common  to 
both  sexes  as  with  us;  the  woman  has  her  own,  exclusively 
for  women,  and  must  not  use  those  a  man  does.  The  Indians 
look  on  our  deference  for  women  as  foolish,  affected,  a  fad. 

The  heathen  man  thinks  it  his  undoubted  right  to  whip  his 
wife,  and  he  exercises  his  privilege  freely.  That  is  one  objec- 
tion that  even  some  Christian  Indians  find  against  the  Ohris- 
tion  religion;   namely,  that  the  wives,  knowing  they  will  no 


84  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SGCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

longer  be  whipped,  since  their  husbands  have  become  Chris- 
tians, presume  upon  that  and  are  not  nearly  so  good  and  sub- 
missive as  they  formerly  were,  or  as  they  ought  to  be.  Gen- 
erally the  wife  yields  to  the  argument  of  the  ax  helve  on  her 
scalp,  and,  like  a  spoiled  child,  seems  to  feel  better  after  she 
has  been  whipped.  But  that  is  not  always  the  case.  An 
Ojibway  whose  name  is,  in  translation,  The  one  with  the  far 
sounding  and  penetrating  voice,  undertook  to  whip)  his  wife, 
but  she  turned  on  him  and  broke  his  arm,  then  tenderly  nursed 
him  till  he  was  well,  and  they  have  been  a  most  loving  couple 
ever  since.  And  it  is  true  that  among  the  Ojibways  there  is 
about  the  same  proportion  of  women  as  among  the  white 
people,  who,  being  stronger  mentally  and  with  more  energy 
and  sense,  rule  and  govern  their  husbands,  to  the  good  of  all. 
Especially  in  middle  and  later  life  the  intellectuality  and  mas- 
culine powers  of  the  wife  are  apt  to  come  to  the  front. 

MARRIAGE,   AND   ABANDONING  WIFE  AND   CHILDREN. 

Many  of  the  heathen  Ojibways  have  two  wives,  and  some 
three.  It  is  considered  perfectly  proper  to  have  as  many  wives 
as  one  can,  and  as  there  are  government  annuities  for  each 
woman  and  each  child,  which  the  man  as  head  of  the  house 
draws,  it  is  an  inducement  to  add  more.  Sometimes  the  two 
wives  are  sisters.  Usually  they  live  in  far  better  peace  with 
each  other  than  white  women  would  under  such  circumstances. 
The  man  usually  has  two  separate  homes  or  wigwams  for  his 
two  families;  but  sometimes  they  live  in  one  house.  Often 
the  first  wife  feels  aggrieved  at  the  taking  of  a  second,  but 
does  not  actively  object. 

There  is  no  marriage  ceremony  among  the  Ojibways.  Usu- 
ally all  the  girls  (I  am  speaking  here  as  everywhere  else  in  this 
paper,  unless  the  contrary  is  expressly  stated,  of  the  heathen 
Ojibways)  begin  to  bear  children  as  soon  as  nature  will  per- 
mit, and  keep  on  bearing  as  long  as  nature  will  allow.  I  have 
never  known  an  Indian  girl  to  live  as  an  unmarried  woman, — 
I  am  speaking  of  the  heathen.  But  I  have  known  Christian 
Ojibway  young  women  who  lived  single  always,  and  whose 
characters  were  as  spotless  as  any  woman's  could  be.  Among 
the  heathen  a  girl  usually  lives  a  while  with  one  man,  and 
then  with   another,  and  there  is  a  great  deal  of  changing 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  85 

around.  Usually,  though,  the  elderly  and  old  people  are  faith- 
ful to  each  other  and  continue  to  live  together.  But  any  hea- 
then woman,  one  will  find  on  inquiry,  has  lived  with  a  good 
many  different  husbands.  There  was  only  one  man  among  the 
Ojibways  who  never  married.  He  was  in  consequence  called 
"The  everlasting  young  unmarried  man."  He  lived  to  the  age 
of  seventy  years. 

It  is  quite  common  for  a  husband,  after  having  lived  with 
a  woman  for  a  long  time  and  raised  quite  a  family,  to  abandon 
her  and  his  children  without  any  cause,  and  to  take  another 
woman  and  begin  to  rear  a  new  family.  A  man,  for  instance, 
will  abandon  his  wife  and  children  at  Leech  lake,  and  go  to 
Red  lake,  seventy-five  miles  distant,  and  take  a  new  wife  there. 
Or  he  may  do  so  in  the  same  village.  In  such  circumstances 
he  never  does  anything  to  support  the  wife  and  children  he 
has  abandoned.  I  have  never  known  a  man  in  such  a  case  to 
do  the  slightest  thing  for  the  children.  But  when  the  time 
of  the  annual  payment  comes  round,  he  always  tries  to  get  the 
annuities  coming  to  the  children  and  to  his  abandoned  wife, 
and  generally  succeeds.  If  he  be  opposed,  he  makes  a  bitter 
fight  before  the  Indian  agent,  to  that  end.  And  when  he  gets 
hold  of  the  money,  he  never  gives  any  of  them  one  cent.  One 
can  constantly  hear  the  poor  woman  lamenting  that  not  only 
has  all  the  money  of  the  children,  whom  she  is  supporting, 
been  taken,  but  that  he  has  got  hers  also.  The  woman  always 
supports  the  children.  The  man  only  helps  his  children,  even 
when  they  are  members  of  the  family  in  which  he  is  living. 
He  does  not  seem  to  lose  caste  in  the  slightest  degree  by  such 
desertion  or  non-support  of  his  children.  It  is  so  common  that 
it  is  looked  on  as  the  regular  thing. 

Let  no  one  think  from  this  that  the  Ojibway  man  does  not 
love  his  children.  He  seems  to  love  them  dearly.  In  his  wig- 
wam or  log  cabin  he  fondles  them  and  plays  with  them  by  the 
hour,  just  like  a  white  father.  When  they  are  sick  he  seems 
just  as  much  distressed  as  a  white  father  would  be.  He  will 
not  let  them  go  away  to  school,  if  it  be  any  long  distance  away, 
for  fear  that  something  may  befall  them,  and  he  far  away. 
When  they  sicken  and  die,  he  shows  the  greatest  dejection 
and  the  most  bitter  grief.     I  have  seen  him  burst  into  tears. 


86  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Often  I  have  thought,  and  still  think,  that  the  Ojibway  loves 
his  children  more  than  the  white  man;  and  I  have  accounted 
for  it  to  my  o^vn  mind  by  the  fact  that  they  lose  so  many  of 
their  children,  making  those  who  remain  doubly  precious. 
And  yet  so  often  he  abandons  them,  apparently  without  a 
cause,  and  apparently  without  ever  giving  them  a  thought 
again.  It  is  a  much  more  rare  thing  for  an  Indian  woman  to 
abandon  her  children.  Like  her  white  sister,  she  clings  to 
them  and  manages  to  support  them  somehow.  It  is  under- 
stood that  it  devolves  on  the  woman  to  support  her  children. 

I  have  never  seen  the  slightest  endearment  pass  between 
husband  and  wife,  not  the  slightest  outward  tokens  of  affec- 
tion. Yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  are  as  much  attached 
to  each  other,  especially  in  middle  and  later  life,  as  those  of 
our  own  race. 

BABYHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD. 

For  the  first  year  of  its  life,  the  Ojibway  baby  is  taken 
most  excellent  care  of  in  its  well  known  cradle.  It  is  wrapped 
in  a  great  many  thicknesses  of  flannel  and  soft  material,  which 
effectually  exclude  all  cold,  and  it  is  perfectly  warm  and  com- 
fortable in  any  weather.  Its  head  is  protected  from  injury 
by  the  wooden  piece  surrounding  it.  It  likes  the  firm  feeling 
of  being  bound  and  swathed  in  this  frame,  and  will  cry  to  be 
put  into  it.  The  frame  can  be  leaned  against  the  wall  at  any 
angle,  and  so  it  can  be  relieved  by  change  of  position;  or, 
best  of  all,  the  mother  carries  it  suspended  on  her  back,  by  a 
strap  passed  round  her  forehead,  while  she  goes  about  her 
work.  I  have  seen  a  mother  at  Red  lake,  while  waiting  all 
day  out  of  doors  for  the  annual  payment,  take  out  in  the  open 
air  and  nurse  her  baby  in  a  temperature  of  about  thirty  de- 
grees below  zero,  and  the  baby  was  not  over  six  weeks  old. 
An  intelligent  United  States  Indian  agent,  observing  them, 
remarked,  "An  Indian  woman  can  doubly  discount  a  white 
woman  in  taking  care  of  her  baby." 

But  with  the  emancipation  of  the  baby  from  its  cradle,  a 
surprising  change  in  its  treatment  occurs.  It  goes  naked,  or 
almost  so,  winter  and  summer,  having  only  a  shirt  and  moc- 
casins until  five  or  six  years.  The  parents  seem  to  think  that 
it  needs  no  clothes.     One  will  see  it  outdoors  playing  in  the 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  87 

snow,  when  it  is  very  cold,  clad  only  with  the  cotton  shirt,  fly- 
ing loose,  and  moccasins.  Then  the  parents  go  on  long  winter 
journeys,  or  they  very  frequently  travel  miles  in  the  night  to 
some  heathen  dance,  the  mother  carrying  the  young  child  on 
her  back  when  the  mercury  stands  thirty  or  forty  degrees  be- 
low zero.  The  dance  house  may  be  hot,  and  then  there  is  the 
home  journey  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  These  carryings  to 
dances  cause  the  death  of  great  numbers  of  children.  Their 
life  is  hard  in  every  way,  the  constant  moving  about  in  winter, 
the  insufficient  food,  the  exposure,  the  insufficient  clothing, 
the  one  blanket  in  which  the  little  child  sleeps.  The  wonder 
is  that  any  children  survive  it,  and  only  the  strongest  consti- 
tutions do.  And  when  the  child  becomes  sick,  the  only  idea 
they  have  of  doing  anything  for  it  is  to  drum  over  it  night  and 
day,  or  to  perform  the  "grand  medicine"  rites  for  its  recovery. 

Whatever  is  good  for  them,  the  parents  think  must  be  good 
for  their  children  also.  So  they  give  them  the  strongest  tea 
to  drink  as  soon  as  they  are  able  to  drink  anything;  and  all 
the  flesh  they  can  eat,  or  anything  they  happen  to  have.  From 
the  same  idea,  the  little  children  very  early  get  to  using  tobac- 
co. I  have  seen  a  boy  of  four  beating  his  mother  with  his 
tiny  fists,  to  make  her  give  him  more  tobacco.  Every  boy  and 
girl  thinks  he  or  she  must  have  tobacco,  and  plenty  of  it 

The  parents  have  no  government  whatever  over  their  chil- 
dren. They  are  absolute  masters  from  the  first  dawn  of  in- 
telligence, and  they  very  quickly  find  it  out  and  rule.  Some- 
times the  mother  gives  the  child  a  push  or  a  cuff,  saying  to  it, 
"You  are  spoiled;"  but  lets  it  take  its  own  way.  They  never 
correct  them,  nor  try  to  bend  them  to  their  will.  I  suppose 
the  reason  is  that  they  lose  so  many  children  and  therefore 
cannot  bear  to  correct  nor  cross  in  any  way  those  that  sur- 
vive. 

When  a  child  is  crying,  the  mother  tries  to  quiet  it  by  say- 
ing, "Hush,  that  Frenchman  will  strike  you,"  pointing  to  the 
white  stranger  who  is  there.  Frenchman  is  the  common  name 
for  any  white  man,  as  the  French  were  the  first  white  men  they 
saw.  When  that  is  not  enough,  she  tells  it  the  owl  will  come 
and  carry  it  off;  and  when  that  from  long  use  has  lost  its 
terrors,  she  shows  it  a  piece  of  the  owFs  ear,  into  which  it 
will  be  put.     As  fast  as  one  lie  is  worn  out,  another  is  in- 


88  MINNESOTA  HISTDKICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

vented;  and  threatening,  which  is  never  carried  out,  is  also 
used.    The  moral  effect  on  the  child  cannot  be  good. 

Indian  children  are  much  more  amiable  than  white  chil- 
dren. They  do  not  quarrel  so  with  each  other.  Perhaps 
from  heredity,  several  families  living  in  one  long  wigwam,  they 
have  learned  to  bear  with  each  other's  frailties  and  to  keep  the 
peace.  The  grown  up  people,  also,  I  think,  live  much  more 
peaceably  with  each  other  than  white  people.  Indian  chil- 
dren in  a  school  are  not  nearly  so  troublesome  to  their  teach- 
ers as  white  children,  and  they  are  much  more  easily  con- 
trolled. 

MECHANICAL   INGENUITY   AND   SKILL. 

Does  the  Ojibway  have  any  mechanical  ingenuity?  A 
great  deal  more  than  we  give  them  credit  for.  In  fact,  they 
seem  to  be  able  to  make  anything  they  want  to  make.  One 
of  our  Indian  clergymen  makes  a  cutter  or  sleigh  that  is  good 
and  serviceable,  although  he  never  had  any  instruction.  A 
mixed-blood  young  man  at  White  Earth  was  with  his  mother, 
when  her  wagon  wheel  broke.  He  took  his  ax,  went  into  the 
woods,  and  made  a  new  wheel  that  answered  the  purpose. 
Since  that  time  he  has  established  himself  as  a  regular  wheel- 
wright, and  seems  to  be  able  to  do  that  work  perfectly  well. 
Yet  he  never  had  a  day's  instruction.  To  another  Indian 
young  man  I  lately  intrusted  the  building  of  a  frame  parson- 
age. He  had  built  only  one  little  board  shanty  before,  and 
had  had  no  training  or  experience  excepting  that.  Yet  he 
built  the  two-story  parsonage,  costing  about  $500,  very  well, 
and  it  looks  well.  They  undoubtedly  have  a  great  deal  of 
mechanical  ingenuity,  if  they  wish  to  exert  it.  One  of  these 
Indians  made  a  fiddle. 

The  women,  too,  make  most  beautiful  patterns  in  their  bead 
work,  which  is  often  marvelous.  Lately  some  of  them  have 
been  taught  lace-making,  and  the  beautiful  lace  they  turn  out 
astonishes  white  experts.  A  highly  educated  young  white 
lady,  a  teacher  of  lace-making,  told  me  that  she  spent  two 
weeks  learning  a  certain  lace-stitch,  and  then  took  as  a  pupil 
an  Indian  girl  with  no  previous  training  in  this  work,  who 
learned  it  in  half  an  hour,  and  could  do  it  better  than  she. 
The  Indian  children  also  model  in  clay  very  beautiful  figures. 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  89 

It  is  a  pity  that  their  undoubted  genius  cannot  be  made  to 
benefit  the  world.  Usually  from  indifference  and  lack  of 
desire  to  apply  it,  unless  called  out  by  some  necessity,  it  is 
never  used.  But  it  is  there  in  high  degree,  and  it  has  already 
permanently  enriched  our  civilization  in  giving  us  the  birch 
bark  canoe,  the  moccasin,  and  many  other  things  that  might 
be  mentioned,  which,  for  beauty  and  perfect  adaptation  to  the 
purposes  intended,  cannot  be  surpassed. 

INTELLECTUAL  TRAITS;    COMPARISON  WITH  THE  WHITE  RACE. 

This  leads  me  to  remark  that  in  my  opinion  the  intellectu- 
ality of  the  race  is  very  high.  I  think  it  surpasses  that  of 
our  own  race,  though,  from  eircmstances,  not  being  called 
out,  it  is  not  used  nor  known.  But  letany  one  listen  to  them 
discussing  anything  that  is  propounded  to  them  concerning 
their  own  affairs,  and  he  will  be  surprised  to  note  how  they 
look  at  it  in  every  light,  discussing  it  from  points  of  view  that 
he  never  would  have  thought  of,  and  to  observe  how  strong  and 
original  their  minds  are.  I  think  no  lawyer  can  equal  an 
Indian,  who  yet  does  not  know  a  letter,  in  making  a  skillful 
and  telling  presentation  of  his  case,  in  marshaling  his  argu- 
ments effectively,  and  in  concealing  the  weak  points.  And 
yet,  with  all  their  intellectuality,  in  another  point  of  view  they 
are  sometimes  grown  up  children. 

The  Indian  is  a  highly  educated  man,  although  this  may 
sound  absurd  to  those  who  hear  me.  Said  an  Oxford  graduate, 
then  an  inmate  of  my  family,  who  often  sat  with  Indians  at 
meals,  "These  men  seem  to  me  like  highly  educated  men;  the 
lines  of  their  faces  seem  like  the  lines  of  the  faces  of  highly 
educated  men."  And  I  think  it  is  true,  that,  though  in  a  dif- 
ferent way  from  us,  the  Indian  is  so.  In  everything  that  is 
needed  for  his  life,  or  related  to  it,  and  even  beyond  it,  he  is 
so.  The  open  page  of  nature,  all  about  plants  and  animals, 
about  life,  a  thousand  things  that  are  unknown  to  us,  he  knows 
perfectly.  His  faculties  are  far  more  highly  trained  than 
ours;  his  perceptions  are  far  more  keen.  He  will  see  fish  in 
the  water,  animals  on  land,  the  glance  of  a  deer's  eye  behind 
a  bush,  or  his  ear  sticking  up,  where  a  white  man  cannot  see 
anything.  Canoeing  with  Indians,  one  will  constantly  hear 
them  pointing  out  fish,  numbers  of  them,  naming  them  as  bass, 


90  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

pike,  etc.;  but  the  white  man  can  see  nothing.  So  even  when 
going  along  in  the  cars,  they  will  see  many  deer  or  other  an- 
imals where  no  one  else  can  see  anything. 

In  one  respect  the  Indian  is  remarkable.  He  is  such  a 
reader  of  character.  There  is  no  use  in  trying  to  deceive  him. 
He  seems  to  look  right  through  a  person,  and  "sizes  him  up," 
as  the  phrase  goes,  much  more  accurately  than  we  can.  They 
are  very  accurate  judges  of  a  person's  social  standing. 

What  does  the  Indian  think  of  the  white  man?  We  show 
them  our  electric  lights  and  our  other  wonders,  and  think 
they  will  fall  down  and  worship  us  as  superior  beings.  It  is 
not  so.  The  Indian,  it  is  true,  sees  his  white  brother  do  many 
wonderful  things.  But  put  the  white  man  in  his  circum- 
stances, and  he  is  a  miserably  helpless  creature,  far  inferior 
to  the  Indian.  He  does  not  know  how  to  make  a  camp,  how 
to  protect  himself  from  the  cold,  how  to  find  the  game.  Put 
an  Indian  and  a  white  man  into  the  woods;  the  white  man 
can  see  nothing  and  will  starve  to  death,  the  Indian  can  find 
a  good  living.  In  the  Indian's  country  and  in  his  circum- 
stances, the  white  man  needs  the  constant  help  of  his  red 
brother  to  keep  him  alive.  Iso  Indian  has  been  drowned  on 
the  great  lakes  of  Minnesota,  as  Leech,  Cass  and  Winnibi- 
goshish,  within  the  memory  of  man,  unless  he  was  loaded  with 
whisky;  the  white  men  have  just  settled  about  those  lakes,  and 
already  considerable  numbers  of  them  have  been  drowned.  In 
brief,  the  Indian  sees  that  he  is  just  as  superior  in  his  sphere 
as  the  white  man  is  in  his. 

The  Indian  has  a  far  higher  opinion  of  himself  than  the 
white  man  of  himself.  "Do  you  not  know,"  said  one  of  our 
Indian  clergymen  to,  me,  "that  the  Indian  thinks  his  body 
God?"  That  translated  into  our  idiom  means  that  he  has  a 
very  high  idea  of  his  own  personality.  Consequently  the  one 
who  treats  him  with  very  great  respect  is  the  one  who  gains 
his  esteem  and  love. 

It  is  strange  also  that  with  the  Indian  amiability  is  the 
test  by  which  he  judges.  One  of  themselves  may  do  anything, 
no  matter  how  outrageously  bad,  even  according  to  their  own 
standard,  and  he  will  not  lose  caste  in  the  least.  He  will  as- 
sociate with  the  others  precisely  as  before,  without  a  thought 
on  his  part,  or  on  theirs,  of  there  being  any  difference.    But 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  91 

if  he  loses  his  temper,  or,  as  we  say,  "gets  mad,"  he  has  utterly 
fallen  in  the  Indian's  estimation.  To  lose  control  of  one's  self, 
to  get  in  a  passion,  to  scold,  is  with  the  Indian  the  unpardon- 
able sin.  I  cannot  remember  ever  to  have  seen  an  Ojibway 
in  a  passion. 

The  Ojibways  have  certainly  many  strong  points.  Their 
speech  is  clean.  I  can  hear  more  bad  language  among  my  own 
people  in  half  an  hour  than  I  have  heard  among  the  Ojibways 
in  over  twenty-four  years.  They  never  swear,  and  I  have 
heard  very  little  obscene  language.  Once  at  Sandy  Lake  I 
did  hear  such  language;  almost  every  word  was  foul,  but  I 
saw  that  they  were  only  imitating  some  of  the  scum  of  the 
frontier,  whom  they  had  met,  and  that  they  thought  it  was 
smart.  That  is  saying  a  great  deal  for  them,  cleanness  of 
speech. 

Also  they  are  far  more  honest  than  the  whites.  I  have 
inquired  everywhere  among  the  lumbermen,  for  hundreds  of 
miles,  and  the  testimony  is  always  the  same,  namely,  that 
where  the  Indians  are  they  can  leave  things  lying  about  and 
nothing  is  taken,  but  when  the  whites  come  there  is  a  sad 
change.  From  Bemidji,  through  by  Pokegama  lake  to  Mille 
Lacs,  the  testimony  is  always  the  same.  They  have  also  more 
respect  for  the  law,  and  more  fear  of  the  law,  when  they  know 
a  thing  to  be  law,  than  the  whites  have. 

Among  the  poor  Ojibways  life  and  property  are  absolutely 
safe.  There  has  been  no  instance  of  any  man  or  woman  hav- 
ing robbed  or  "held  up"  another,  red  or  white,  in  a  quarter 
of  a  century.  They  would  never  think  of  such  a  thing,  and  it 
makes  no  difference  how  much  money  a  man  may  be  known 
to  have  on  him,  he  is  perfectly  safe.  A  helpless  woman  or 
child  might  go  from  end  to  end  of  their  country  by  day  or 
night,  and  would  never  be  molested.  Among  the  Indians  one 
has  the  feeling  of  absolute  security  in  person  and  property. 
During  twenty-four  years  I  have  never  carried  a  gun  or  pistol 
when  traveling  among  them,  and  that  was  almost  constantly, 
in  a  circuit  of  about  300  miles,  except  once  for  fear  of  wolves; 
and  never  have  I  had  firearms  in  my  house  except  once,  when 
some  white  tramps  were  reported  to  be  meditating  an  attack, 
of  whom  the  Indians  also  were  mortally  afraid.  My  family 
and  I  never  received  anything  but  kindness  from  the  Indians, 


92  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

and  never  felt  one  moment's  apprehension.  Once  we  were 
gone  for  three  months,  and  the  house,  untenanted,  and  filled 
with  things  they  needed,  stood  by  the  roadside.  When  we 
came  back  it  was  untouched.  All  of  us,  when  among  the 
whites,  at  certain  times  and  in  certain  places,  fear  and  are  on 
our  guard;  when  we  want  absolute  security,  we  go  among  the 
poor  Ojibways. 

The  Indian  is  extremely  suspicious;  he  hardly  ever  gives 
his  confidence  to  any  man,  especially  a  white  man.  For  in- 
stance, let  him  have  known  a  white  man  ever  so  long,  and 
have  always  found  him  perfectly  upright,  and  his  friend;  yet 
if  that  white  man  proposes  something  new  to  him,  he  will 
never  take  it  on  trust,  nor  think,  "Here  is  this  man  who  is 
wiser  than  I,  and  he  proposes  this  thing  for  my  good;  therefore 
I  will  accept  it."  Instead  he  will  view  it  with  suspicion  and 
think  that  it  is  some  plan  to  injure  him,  and  will  examine  it 
with  that  thought  constantly  in  his  mind.  He  views  every- 
thing with  suspicion.  He  is  the  least  trustful,  and  the  most 
suspicious  of  ill,  of  all  beings. 

I  have  never  met  an  Indian  who  did  not  believe  in  the 
existence  of  deities  and  the  life  beyond  the  grave.  I  do  not 
believe  such  a  one  can  be  found,  or  that  there  ever  was  such 
an  Indian.  It  is  a  part  of  the  warp  and  woof  of  their  thought. 
At  the  same  time  their  belief  in  a  future  life  does  not  seem 
to  have  any  influence  on  their  conduct  here;  nor  do  they  seem 
to  have  any  fear  of  retribution  beyond  the  grave. 

MURDER  RARE,  EXCEPTING  WHEN  DUE  TO  INTOXICATION. 

I  cannot  recall  any  murders  by  Ojibways  of  theirf  fellow 
Indians,  when  not  intoxicated,  except  that  one  man,  a  mixed- 
blood,  killed  a  woman  who  rejected  his  improper  proposals; 
and  that  another  mixed-blood  killed  his  wife  and  an  Indian, 
who,  aided  by  this  second  wife,  had  killed  his  first  or  real  wife. 
Also  at  Ked  Lake  a  man  was  shot  by  another,  whether  acci- 
dentally or  not  was  never  determined. 

One  or  two  white  persons  have  been  killed  in  collisions  with 
the  Indians  within  the  past  twenty-five  years;  but  not  so 
many  as  there  have  been  Indians  killed  by  whites* 

Until  about  twenty-five  years  ago,  great  numbers  of  In- 
dians were  killed  by  each  other  in  drunken  fights.    Our  aged 


THE  OJTBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  93 

Indian  clergyman  has  a  record  of  the  murders  in  Crow  Wing, 
a  village  of  perhaps  five  or  six  hundred  inhabitants,  where  he 
was  then  living;  and  in  one  year,  there  were,  I  think,  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  such  murders.  Those  were  in 
the  sad  times  of  debauchery,  before  the  present  missions  were 
started.  And  at  Mille  Lacs,  where  there  is  no  mission,  the 
mortality  in  drunken  fights  has  been  very  great  all  through 
the  years.  But  in  the  rest  of  the  Indian  country,  as  at  Leech 
lake,  Eed  lake,  Cass  lake,  and  on  the  White  Earth  reservation, 
they  have  learned  the  sacredness  of  human  life.  At  Mille 
Lacs,  until  within  a  very  few  years,  and  perhaps  now,  a  com- 
mon sight  was  to  see  the  women  gathering  up  all  the  guns 
and  knives,  and  taking  them  away  into  the  woods  to  hide 
them,  the  men  being  about  to  engage  in  a  drunk,  and  they  be- 
ing anxious  that  none  should  be  killed. 

NATURAL  FOL.ITENES3  AND  PATIENCE. 

A  pleasing  characteristic  of  the  Indian  is  his  politeness. 
He  is  never  rude,  rough,  and  boorish,  as  the  white  man  often 
is.    When  a  stranger  comes  into  the  wigwam,  no  matter  how 
much  the  curiosity  of  the  inmates  is  excited,  they  will  not 
stare  at  him.    One  can  see  them  check  the  little  children, 
when,  their  curiosity  being  excited,  they  stare  at  the  new  comer 
too  intently.    They  are  naturally  polite.    They  very  quickly 
learn  table  manners  that  are  unexceptionable,  and  to  conduct 
themselves  in  company  with  ease  and  grace,  and  often  with 
great  dignity.    When  the  wife  of  our  aged  Indian  clergyman 
was  attending  a  reception  at  the  White  House,  there  was  a 
greater  crowd  of  distinguished  people,  congressmen  and  others, 
around  her  and  her  husband,  than  there  was  around  the  presi- 
dent; but  she  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  received  with  the 
grace  and  dignity  of  a  queen.    Indians  say  that  when  they  go 
among  white  people  the  latter  often  crowd  up  to  them  and 
stare  into  their  faces,  as  if  they  were  wild  beasts.    They  would 
never  do  that.    The  average  white  man  whom  they  meet  up  in 
the  pine  country  shouts  to  them  from  as  far  as  he  can  see 
them,  "Bo  zhoo,  neche,"  and  then  follows  it  up  with  launching 
at  them  a  few  of  the  most  obscene  words  in  the  Ojibway 
language,  which  they  have  all  learned.    The  Ojibways  would 
never  do  so  to  white  people. 


94  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Nearly  every  summer  I  have  been  on  a  long  canoe  trip, 
lasting  a  week  or  two,  with  white  gentlemen  as  passengers, 
and  Indian  canoe  men;  and  nearly  always  I  have  found  that 
before  the  end  of  the  trip  the  Indians  established  themselves 
as  the  better  gentlemen  of  the  two.  The  white  men  would  be 
impatient,  cross,  fretful,  on  account  of  mosquitoes,  rain,  cold, 
or  the  mishaps  of  travel;  the  Indians  always  preserved  their 
equanimity  in  the  most  trying  circumstances.  No  matter  if 
they  were  packing  very  heavy  loads,  while  the  white  gentlemen 
walked  empty-handed;  no  matter  if  they  were  devoured  by 
mosquitoes,  while,  their  hands  being  full,  they  could  not  switch 
them  off;  no  matter  if  the  trail  was  horrible,  encumbered  with 
fallen  logs,  and  they  sinking  to  their  middle  in  the  swamps, 
weighed  down  by  their  heavy  loads,  while  perhaps  at  the  same 
time  a  sudden  shower  would  fall;  there  never  was  a  word 
nor  a  look  of  impatience,  but  they  smiling  as  tranquilly  as  if 
it  had  been  a  good  path  and  a  sunny  day.  Their  manhood 
would  not  allow  them  to  demean  themselves  by  showing  the 
slightest  fretfulness  or  impatience  under  any  circumstances. 
Their  conduct  was  a  silent  rebuke  to  their  white  brothers. 
Seeing  them  so  petulant,  so  easily  worried,  often  so  unreason- 
able, they  felt  for  them  a  good-natured  contempt. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  OBJIBWAY. 

Can  the  Indian  rise  to  the  standard  of  the  white  man?  To 
answer  this  question,  one  looks  backwards,  and  thinks  of  the 
Indians  he  has  known;  and  as  the  picture  of  them  rises  before 
the  memory,  I  have  to  confess  that  some  of  the  best  men  I 
have  ever  knowTn,  and  the  freest  from  faults,  were  Indians. 
There,  for  instance,  is  Edward  Eeese,  a  full  Indian,  for  twenty 
years  government  teamster  at  Leech  Lake.  Industrious,  faith- 
ful to  every  duty,  a  good  neighbor,  a  kind  father  and  husband, 
patient  and  forbearing,  honest  and  loving,  the  sweet  spirit  of 
Christ  looking  out  of  his  face,  in  his  daily  life  he  has  been  an 
inspiration  to  every  one  who  meets  him,  whether  whites  or 
Indians.  Eunning  my  mind  over  twenty  years  of  intimate 
knowledge  of  this  man,  I  cannot  recall  an  act,  or  a  word  even, 
that  Edward  Eeese  did  or  spoke,  that  was  not  a  manly  and  a 
Christian  act  or  word.  Yes,  one  would  have  to  go  even  far- 
ther than  that,  and  say  that  he  never  saw  Edward  Eeese  show 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  95 

a  temper  even,  tliat  was  not  a  Christian  temper.  Of  how 
many  white  men  one  knows  can  one  say  the  same?  Yet  Ed- 
ward Reese  is  not  a  whit  better  than  the  old  chief,  David 
Kirk,  of  the  same  village.  Nor  is  he  any  better  than  was  the 
blacksmith,  now  deceased,  Ke-zhi-osh.  Nor  was  he  any  bet- 
ter than  was  old  Rocky  Mountain  of  Red  Lake,  or  Shay-day- 
ence  of  White  Earth,  or  a  great  many  others,  including  some 
in  every  village.  So  the  answer  to  that  question,  after  sum- 
moning up  witnesses  to  the  bar  of  memory  and  trying  the  case, 
has  to  be,  if  it  is  the  answer  of  truth,  by  one  who  knows  them 
intimately,  that  even  in  one  generation,  and  with  all  the  dis- 
advantage of  heredity  and  most  unfavorable  early  surround- 
ings, a  great  many  Indians  are  just  as  good,  and  as  nearly  per- 
fect characters  as  any  white  men  or  white  women  ever  get 
to  be. 

And  what  has  been  said  above  of  the  men  applies  equally  to 
the  women.  They  may  not  know  how  to  dress  as  nicely,  and 
not  be  so  well  acquainted  with  points  of  etiquette,  but  there 
are  just  as  good  women,  and  plenty  of  them,  among  the  In- 
dians as  there  are  in  any  white  community.  It  would  make 
this  paper  too  long  to  give  examples. 

But  here  a  word  of  caution  has  to  be  put  in.  Every  one 
of  those  I  have  been  speaking  of  are  Christians.  I  have  rather 
a  poor  opinion  of  heathen  character,  and  would  not  expect  to 
find  much  that  is  lovable  there;  a  few  noble  traits,  perhaps, 
that  show  what  the  original  edifice  was  intended  to  be,  amidst 
a  mass  of  ruins.  There  is  not  much  that  is  desirable  in  the 
old  life:  nearly  all  has  to  be  built  up  anew  out  of  Christianity. 
I  am  not  writing  here  an  essay  on  Christianity  or  missions; 
so  I  pass  that  side  of  the  question  over  entirely,  only  saying 
that  the  most  sincere,  consistent,  lovable  and  zealous  Chris- 
tians I  have  ever  known  in  my  life  were  Indians.  Some  of 
them  have  passed  away;  a  great  many  are  still  living.  Nor 
do  I  speak  of  the  Indian  clergy  still  living,  now  eight  in  num- 
ber, who  are  all  of  them  all  that  such  men  ought  to  be.  Tak- 
ing it  on  the  wThole,  I  think  that  Shay-day-ence,  who  from 
being  the  great  grand  medicine  man  of  the  Ojibway  nation  and 
a  chief  servant  of  Satan,  became  late  in  life  a  Christian  and 
a  wonderful  volunteer  missionary,  was  the  most  wonderful 
Indian  I  have  known.    Paul  did  not  have  a  stranger  conver- 


96  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

sion,  nor  a  more  burning  zeal,  than  did  old  Shay-day-ence, 
There  is  a  very  imperfect  sketch  of  him  in  this  Society's  Li- 
brary,  so  I  will  say  no  more  of  him. 

With  what  feelings  does  the  O  jib  way  regard  the  coming 
of  the  white  man  into  his  vicinity?  With  a  feeling  of  appre- 
hension, and  a  wish  that  he  would  not  come.  When  the 
whites  within  the  last  five  years  were  about  to  come  near  Cass 
lake,  the  chief,  an  excellent  man,  told  me  that  he  wished  they 
would  not  come,  because  it  would  break  in  upon  their  "right- 
eousness of  life."  We,  who  saw  how  they  lived,  would  not 
regard  it  in  many  respects  as  "righteousness  of  life;"  but  that 
was  their  feeling. 

TREATMENT  OF  THE  AGED. 

How  are  the  old  treated  by  the  O  jib  ways?  Oftentimes  a 
daughter  will  do  a  good  deal  for  her  aged  parents ;  but  a  son 
cares  very  little  for  them  (I  am  speaking  of  the  heathen),  and 
does  less.  It  is  with  them  as  with  ourselves,  the  women  are 
a  good  deal  better  than  the  men.  But  it  seems  to  be  an  un- 
written law  among  them  that  an  old  man,  and  especially  an 
old  woman,  must  shift  for  himself  or  herself  somehow.  They 
have  a  contempt  for  the  aged  and  useless,  like  all  heathen. 
The  son  never  seems  to  think  he  is  under  any  obligation  to  do 
anything  for  his  aged  father  or  mother.  Nor  do  they  make 
any  complaint  of  him,  for  they  do  not  seem  to  expect  any- 
thing. And  one  always  hears  the  complaint  that  food  given 
by  the  government,  or  by  charitable  persons,  does  not  get  to 
the  old  persons  for  whom  it  was  intended,  but  is  eaten  by  the 
well  and  strong. 

Going  a  few  years  ago  to  the  house  of  one  of  our  Indian 
missionaries,  I  noticed  an  old  heathen  woman  lying  on  the 
floor,  who  seemed  so  feeble  she  could  not  sit  up.  On  inquiry 
it  appeared  that  her  son  had  told  her,  in  the  very  coldest  of 
January,  to  go  out  of  doors  and  make  her  bed  in  the  snow, 
because  he  was  afraid  to  sleep  in  the  house  with  her,  fearing 
that  she  was  about  to  turn  into  a  man-eating  witch.  That, 
of  course,  was  only  an  excuse;  the  real  reason  was  that  he 
was  tired  of  her,  and  yet  she  had  been  a  good  and  devoted 
mother.  So  she  had  to  go,  and  slept  out  several  nights,  and 
was  so  badly  frozen  that  she  died  in  the  hospital  to  which  we 
had  her  taken.    The  missionary  and  his  wife  had  brought  her 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  97 

to  their  house,  as  soon  as  they  learned  of  it  When  dying 
she  sent  for  her  son,  but  he  paid  no  attention  to  it,  and  left  it 
to  strangers  to  bury  her.  It  excited  no  comment,  nor  was  he 
apparently  lowered  in  the  estimation  of  the  community  in 
which  he  lived.  Taking  a  general  view,  we  must  say  that  the 
old  are  badly  neglected  and  have  a  hard  time.  One  good  old 
woman  who  was  blind  was  generally  reported  to  have  starved 
to  death,  though  her  relatives,  who  were  numerous,  might 
easily  have  given  her  rabbits  or  a  little  something  to  eat. 

TOBACCO    SMOKING   AND   CHEWING. 

Tobacco  is  largely  used  by  the  Ojibways,  men,  women,  and 
children.    They  smoke  it  mixed  with  the  inner  bark  of  the 
red  willow,  and  also  chew  it    All  the  children  think  they 
must  have  their  tobacco  the  same  as  their  elders.    The  women 
from  Cut-Foot-Sioux  are  the  greatest  chewers  I  have  seen. 
Ordinarily  the  heathen  man  thinks  he  must  have  a  plug  as  long 
as  one's  arm  and  as  thick.    It  is  doubtful,  though,  whether 
they  use  more  of  it  than  certain  classes  of  our  own  people. 
I  once  asked  the  principal  merchant  at  Leech  Lake,  how  much 
money  he  took  in  in  a  year  from  the  Indians  for  tobacco. 
He  made  a  calculation,  and  said  $2,000.  There  were  three  stores 
there,  and  if  the  others  sold  as  much  it  would  make  $6,000  a 
year  in  that  one  village.    There  were  about  1,000  persons 
around  the  lake,  and  perhaps  two-thirds  of  them  got  their 
tobacco  there.    The  total  government  annuities  for  1,600  In- 
dians were  $10,666.    For  a  people  as  poor  as  they  were,  often 
starving,  this  was  a  serious  drain  on  their  resources,  and  it 
seems  strange  to  us  that  they  did  not  apply  that  $6,000  to 
food.    An  Indian  at  Leech  lake  lately  went  to  a  merchant  and 
told  him  that  he  and  his  family  were  in  such  a  state  of  abso- 
lute starvation  that  he  must  have  five  dollars'  worth,  on  credit, 
to  save  them  alive.    The  good-hearted  merchant  consented, 
and  told  him  to  name  the  kinds  and  amounts  of  provisions 
to  take  up  the  five  dollars.    The  first  item  the  man  gave  was 
tobacco,  a  dollar  and  a  half. 

MORTALITY  OP  CHILDREN. 

Although  the  Indian  women,  beginning  early,  bear  so 
many  children,  comparatively  few  live  to  maturity.    Ask  any 

7 


98  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

aged  woman  how  many  children  she  has  had,  and  the  answer 
will  usually  be  from  eight  to  twelve.  Ask  her  how  many  are 
alive  and  the  answer  will  usually  be  one,  two,  or  none  at  all. 
The  hardships  of  the  life,  cold,  hunger,  insufficient  clothing, 
the  carrying  children  to  heathen  dances,  and  the  want  of 
knowledge  how  to  care  for  them  in  sickness,  are  the  causes 
of  their  dying  young.  For  instance,  in  the  winter  of  1873 
there  was  an  epidemic  of  whooping  cough  in  White  Earth.  I 
constantly  saw  children  clad  only  in  the  cotton  shirt,  cotton 
leggings,  and  moccasins,  standing  in  the  road  in  the  cold 
snowy  weather,  coughing  violently  with  the  whooping  cough; 
no  wonder  that  over  fifty  died,  out  of  a  population  of  some 
hundreds,  while  out  of  the  same  number  of  people  in  the  white 
town  from  which  I  had  come,  and  where  there  had  also  been 
an  epidemic  of  the  same  disease,  not  one  had  died. 

AVERSION  TO  BATHING;    HOUSES  OF  ONE  ROOM. 

I  have  never  known  the  adult  heathen  Ojibways  to  wash 
their  bodies  or  bathe.  The  boys  and  girls  and  young  people 
sometimes  bathe,  but  never  the  grown  up  people  that  I  have 
seen.  As  they  all  live  in  one-roomed  houses,  they  have  no 
facilities  for  doing  so.  Yet  I  have  known  some  to  live  to 
ninety-two  years,  and  some  indeed  to  be  considerably  older, 
with  very  poor  food,  and  in  defiance  of  all  sanitary  laws,  who 
I  am  sure  had  not  washed,  except  their  faces  and  hands,  for 
sixty  years.  They  do  not  seem  to  think  it  necessary  or  ben- 
eficial. When  children  are  taken  into  a  boarding-school,  there 
is  apt  to  be  a  great  fight  with  the  parents  to  allow  them  to  be 
washed,  as  they  think  that  water  will  seriously  injure  them. 

The  reason  why  they  prefer  the  one-roomed  house  is  on  ac- 
count of  the  sociability  and  for  greater  warmth.  They  are 
gregarious.  They  love  to  see  and  hear  each  other,  love  laugh- 
ter and  jests,  and  as  they  have  no  books  or  newspapers  or  any 
other  means  of  passing  their  time,  they  find  their  amusement 
in  each  other's  society.  It  is  therefore  by  preference  and  not 
from  poverty  that  they  have  the  one-roomed  house.  Then  in 
their  cold  winter  climate  one  room  is  much  more  easily  heated 
than  several.  The  chief  of  Cass  lake,  a  Christian  man,  when 
his  three  daughters  married,  built  for  each  one  and  her  hus- 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  99 

band  an  addition  to  Ms  house,  a  log  room  at  the  end,  each 
room  communicating  by  a  door  with  the  rest  of  the  house. 
In  this  room  the  new  family  was  installed,  and  so  were  private. 
But  I  have  never  known  a  heathen  family  to  have  more  than 
one  room,  in  any  house  they  built  themselves.  The  mission- 
aries and  some  of  the  Christians  have  more  than  one  room, 
and  in  the  new  houses  built  by  the  Chippewa  Commission 
within  the  last  five  years  for  the  new  removals  to  White 
Earth  there  was  usually  an  upstairs  part,  which  could  be 
used  as  a  sleeping  room.  But  to  the  mass  of  the  people  the 
idea  of  shutting  one  person  alone  in  a  box  of  a  bedroom  seems 
an  unnatural  way,  and  far  inferior  to  their  own.  They  can 
sleep  far  better  with  the  children  crawling  over  them,  and 
a  warm  fire  at  their  feet. 

HUNTING  AND   KILLING  GAME. 

The  Indians  kill  game  at  all  seasons,  everything  that  has 
life.  All  summer  long  they  hunt  deer  by  torchlight.  A  few 
years  ago  we  sent  an  Indian  clergyman  to  Cass  lake  in  May, 
and  in  two  months  he  killed  twenty-five  deer,  mostly  by  torch- 
light, up  the  Mississippi,  in  his  canoe.  The  Indians  at  the 
Narrows  of  Bed  lake,  opposite  to  the  Agency,  killed  in  one 
fall,  by  actual  count,  eighty-seven  moose,  swimming  in  the 
lake,  near  their  village,  to  escape  from  the  flies.  That  was 
in  1887,  I  think.  Last  winter  many  Indians  about  Sandy  lake 
had  killed,  by  December,  sixteen  deer  each  since  the  snow  fell. 
Many  of  the  Indians  of  the  White  Earth  reservation  killed 
that  winter,  of  1896-97,  forty  deer  each,  as  owing  to  the  un- 
usually deep  snow  the  deer  could  not  get  away  from  them. 
They  pursued  them  on  snowshoes,  and  killed  them  with  axes. 
I  myself  saw  deer  pursued  and  floundering  in  the  deep  snow, 
making  very  little  headway.  Last  winter  I  was  at  the  village 
of  Home-returning-Cloud,  near  Leech  lake,  and  found  he  was 
absent  with  most  of  the  women.  I  learned  that  they  had 
gone  to  pack  home  fire  moose,  which  he  had  killed  about 
twenty  miles  away.  He  had  previously  killed  two  moose. 
One  would  think  that  this  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  the 
deer  and  other  animals  winter  and  summer  would  result  in 
their  extermination;  but,  strange  to  say,  their  numbers  have# 


100  MINNESOTA  HISTOBICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

been  constantly  increasing  within  the  Indian  reservation,  un- 
til last  winter.  For  instance,  when  the  Indian  clergymen 
went  to  Red  lake  first  in  1877,  they  noticed  that  it  was  a  rare 
thing  for  any  deer  to  be  killed;  there  were  very  few  deer,  but 
afterward  they  kept  constantly  increasing,  and  the  Indians 
every  year  kept  killing  more  and  more.  This  continual  in- 
crease of  the  deer  furnishes  a  curious  confirmation  of  what 
the  Indians  are  always  saying,  that  "the  Great  Spirit  always 
sends  something  for  His  Indian  children,  and  seems  to  special- 
ly provide  for  their  wants.  He  sends  them  the  wild  rice  which 
they  neither  plant  nor  cultivate  nor  fence,  but  only  reap,  and 
He  sends  them  many  other  things/7  I  suppose  the  explana- 
tion of  the  increasing  plentiness  of  the  deer,  notwithstanding 
the  continual  slaughter  of  them  winter  and  summer,  is  that 
given  by  the  Indians,  namely,  that  as  the  country  south  be- 
comes settled  the  deer  go  north  into  the  reservations,  the  only 
unsettled  pairt  of  the  country,  and  although  so  many  are 
killed  off  they  still  keep  coming  in.  It  may  be  also,  though 
the  Indians  do  not  say  so,  that  the  English  working  on  the 
Canadian  Pacific  railway  scare  them  down  this  way.  But 
their  numbers  reached  and  passed  the  high  water  mark,  I 
think,  in  1896  and  1897,  in  that  last  winter  of  deep  snow,  when 
almost  every  man  was  out  after  them,  and  many  hunters,  as 
has  been  said,  killed  forty  each. 

Indians,  as  is  well  known,  never  leave  any  game  for  a  fu- 
ture time,  or  for  future  needs,  but  kill  everything  in  sight, 
even  if  they  have  so  much  flesh  that  they  are  unable  to  use  it. 
Usually,  all  winter  long,  one  can  buy  moose  meat  and  venison 
in  Red  Lake  village  and  Leech  Lake  for  five  cents  a  pound, 
and  sometimes  for  much  less.  In  the  beginning  of  November 
most  of  the  men  move  out  and  establish  deer-hunting  camps, 
and  stay  out  till  about  the  first  of  January.  Heretofore  about 
€ass  lake  has  been  the  best  place  for  deer  and  moose.  Some 
reindeer  were  also  killed  there  several  years  ago,  but  very 
few  of  late  years*  In  a  letter  to  the  state  fire  warden  a  few 
years  ago  I  gave  an  estimate,  made  with  the  aid  of  the  best- 
informed  Indians,  of  the  numbers  of  deer  annually  killed  by 
the  Indians  of  the  different  villages,  and  it  ran  up  into  many 
thousands*    The  deer  and  moose  skins  are  all  utilized  for 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  101 

moccasins.  The  Mille  Lacs  people  have  so  many  that  they  can 
sell;  those  in  the  other  villages  keep  them  for  their  own  use. 
The  Ojibway  justly  prefers  the  moccasin,  winter  and  summer, 
to  any  other  foot-wear. 

NEGLECT  OF  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

The  Ojibways,  like  Indians  everywhere,  have  no  feeling 
whatever  for  the  sufferings  of  animals.  They  always  allow 
numbers  of  domestic  animals  to  starve  in  winter  and  spring, 
though  with  two  or  three  days  of  labor  they  might  cut  hay 
enough  to  keep  them  fat  Very  often  they  do  not  house  them; 
and  the  oxen  and  ponies  stand  out  night  and  day  for  weeks 
when  the  cold  is  thirty  or  forty  degrees  below  zero.  It  is 
pitiful  also  to  see  the  starving  creatures  wandering  through 
the  villages,  as  Leech  Lake,  trying  to  eat  horse  dung  that  has 
a  little  straw  or  old  hay  mixed  with  it  It  never  seems  to 
occur  to  the  Indians  to  feel  the  least  pity  for  their  sufferings. 
Towards  spring  especially  is  the  time  when  most  of  the  cattle 
and  ponies  die  of  starvation.  All  around  are  native  hay  mead- 
ows, and  in  one  day  a  man  should  cut  grass  enough  to  feed  a 
horse  or  an  ox  for  a  year.  One  of  the  evil  effects  of  maple 
sugar-making  is  that  when  they  move  from  their  homes  to 
the  sugar  woods,  they  abandon  any  animals  they  do  not  use 
to  transport  them  there;  so  the  cattle,  hogs,  or  ponies,  being 
turned  out  into  the  deep  snow  and  having  nothing  either  to 
eat  or  drink,  wander  about,  unsheltered  and  starving,  till  they 
die.  This  continual  loss  of  cattle  and  ponies,  every  year,  crip- 
ples them  very  much,  as  may  be  imagined,  in  their  feeble  ef- 
forts at  farming. 

The  winter  of  1896-97,  on  account  of  its  deep  snow,  was 
unusually  disastrous  to  the  cattle  and  ponies.  Some  Indians 
had  cut  and  stacked  some  hay  on  the  meadows  a  few  miles  from 
where  they  lived,  but  had  not  hauled  it  home;  and  when  tnfc 
snow  became  deep,  the  ponies,  being  feeble,  were  unable  to  haul 
it,  and  so  they  nearly  all  died.  At  Cass  lake  there  were  only 
two  or  three  ponies  that  survived;  they  nearly  all  died  at 
Bed  lake,  on  the  White  Earth  reservation,  everywhere.  Some 
tried  to  keep  them  alive  by  feeding  them  branches  of  trees; 
but,  as  may  be  imagined,  with  poor  success.    One  would  won- 


102  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

der  that,  with  the  continual  hard  treatment  every  winter,  and 
the  great  numbers  that  starve,  there  are  any  ponies  left;  but 
the  explanation  is  that  they  get  a  fresh  supply  of  ponies  every 
summer  from  the  Sioux,  who  abound  in  ponies.  Most  of  the 
O  jib  way.  men  have  their  women  make  quantities  of  their  beau- 
tiful bead- work  every  winter  and  store  it  up.  When  summer 
comes,  the  husband  carries  it  to  the  Sioux  country,  and  brings 
back  as  many  ponies  as  he  had  tobacco-pouches  (kashkibita- 
gunug).  One  of  the  bead-work  pouches  is  the  great  ornament 
of  an  Ojibway,  and  any  person  wearing  it  is  considered  to  be 
in  full  dress;  it  is  worth  a  pony  among  the  Sioux.  Thus  the 
stock  of  horses  is  every  summer  replenished.  The  O  jib  ways 
are  not  horse  Indians;  naturally  they  have  no  horses,  except- 
ing those  they  get  from  the  Sioux. 

The  United  States  government  occasionally  has  issued 
yokes  of  oxen,  perhaps  twelve  yokes  at  a  time,  to  as  many 
Red  Lake  Indians.  With  these  they  hauled  freight  for  the 
government,  from  the  then  nearest  railroad  station,  Detroit, 
100  to  110  miles  distant;  and  later,  when  the  railroad  was  built 
to  Fosston,  from  that  place,  65  miles.  They,  of  course,  camped 
out  by  the  way.  The  roads  were  in  many  places  shocking, 
and,  between  the  severity  of  the  labor  and  the  want  of  feed 
and  care,  the  oxen  were  usually  all  dead  within  two  years. 
Oxen  were  often  similarly  issued  to  the  White  Earth  Indians; 
and  they,  too,  often  starved  to  death,  from  their  owners  not 
making  hay  for  them  in  summer.  Then  instead  of  using  them 
for  farming  they  were  used  to  take  their  families  to>  Indian 
dances,  at  great  distances,  as  Leech  Lake,  94  miles,  Red  Lake, 
90  miles,  or  to  the  Sioux  country,  several  hundred  miles;  and 
on  such  trips  they  were  very  poorly  fed,  and  were  otherwise 
abused.  It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  usually  the  oxen 
soon  all  died.  They  were  used  also  to  carry  their  owners  and 
families  where  the  different  berries  abounded,  as  they  became 
ripe,  often  fifty  or  sixty  miles  distant. 

Cows  were  also  issued  to  the  White  Earth  Indians,  but 
they  never  milked  them,  as  they  do  not  care  for  milk  and  never 
drink  it  The  first  Indian  agent,  E.  P.  Smith,  who  was  there 
in  1872  and  1873,  being  a  man  of  most  admirable  judgment, 
bought  the  finest  cattle  of  the  best  breeds  and  issued  them  to 


THE  OJTBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  103 

the  Indians.  The  consequence  was  that  in  the  following  years 
visitors  from  St.  Paul  and  other  places,  who  were  judges  of 
stock,  said  that  the  cattle  which  they  saw  in  summer  grazing 
on  the  White  Earth  reservation  were  the  finest  they  had  ever 
seen  in  their  lives.  Within  a  few  years  broncho  men  have 
brought  in  that  kind  of  horses,  and  traded  them  to  the  Indians 
for  their  cattle  and  got  away  from  them  nearly  all  that  re- 
mained. The  bronchos  enable  them  to  get  about  quicker, 
visiting  Sioux  or  going  to  dances,  but  are  worthless  for  farm- 
ing purposes.  The  genuine  Indian  pony  (not  the  broncho)  is 
the  toughest  thing  in  the  world,  and  it  is  astonishing  what 
loads  the  Indians  will  haul  with  them.  The  Indians  at  Leech 
Lake,  for  many  years,  hauled  flour  and  goods  for  the  mer- 
chants and  supplies  for  the  government,  first  from  Brainerd, 
68  miles  distant,  and  later  from  Park  Rapids,  45  miles.  The 
roads  for  part  of  the  way  were  indescribably  bad,  the  wagons 
frequently  sinking  to  the  hub.  Yet  with  small  ponies  and 
heavy  wagons  they  managed  to  haul  loads  of  from  eighteen  to 
twenty-two  hundred  weight.  I  do  not  think  any  white  men 
could  have  got  those  loads  over  such  roads  with  those  small 
ponies.  They  kept  ait  them  day  and  night,  often  when  they 
were  staggering  from  weakness,  until  they  got  them  to  Leech 
Lake.  The  prices  paid  them  were  perhaps  from  50  to  75 
cents  a  hundred,  from  Park  Rapids. 

GREAT  ENDURANCE  IN  WALKING. 

The  Ojibways  are  good  walkers.  The  Rev.  Mark  Hart  left 
Red  Lake  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  a  November  day, 
camped  on  the  road  about  thirty-four  miles  out,  and  the  next 
evening  was  at  my  house,  eighty  or  ninety  miles  from  Red 
Lake.  He  thought  nothing  of  it.  They  do  not  consider  walk- 
ing work.  Even  children  of  six  years  will  walk  twenty-five 
miles  in  a  day  for  several  days  in  succession  and  do  not  seem 
to  mind  it.  Rev.  Mark  Hart's  son,  six  years  old,  walked  from 
Cass  Lake  to  Red  Lake,  forty-five  miles,  in  two  days,  and  slept 
out  on  the  road.  I  have  known  Indians  to  leave  Red  lake  at 
noon,  and  get  to  the  shore  of  Leech  lake  by  midnight,  the 
distance  being  sixty-five  miles. 


104  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Old  Rocky  Mountain,  living  at  Red  Lake,  heard  that  his 
annuity  money,  five  dollars,  was  at  White  Earth,  some  ninety 
miles  distant,  and  started  to  walk  there  to  get  it.  He  was 
between  eighty  and  ninety  years  of  age.  When  he  got  to  the 
Twin  lakes,  sixty-five  miles  distant,  on  the  second  day  out, 
he  learned  that  the  money  had  been  returned  to  Washington. 
Consequently  he  turned  and  in  the  next  two  days  walked  back 
to  Red  Lake,  walking  on  the  last  day  forty  miles.  He  said 
he  was  not  a  particle  tired  when  he  got  back,  but  was  skip- 
ping about  bringing  pails  of  water.  His  son,  who  was  with 
him,  was  tired.  The  same  old  man  used  to  walk  every  year, 
at  payment  time,  from  Red  Lake  to  Leech  Lake,  nearly  seventy 
miles,  and  back,  to  receive  his  annuity,  which  was  Hye  dol- 
lars, camping  out  in  all  weathers. 

These  Indians  enumerate  the  great  walkers  who  have  been 
among  them  in  the  last  two  hundred  years.  One  was  an 
Ojibway,  one  a  Frenchman,  and  the  third  James  Lloyd  Breck, 
the  first  missionary  of  the  Episcopal  Church  among  them.  He 
walked  in  one  day  from  the  old  agency  near  Crow  Wing  to 
Leech  lake,  and  back  the  next,  a  distance  of  seventy  miles 
each  way.  He  was  always  doing  such  things,  but  never  spoke 
of  them  and  never  thought  of  them.  The  Indians  acknowledge 
that  he  could  outwalk  any  of  them.  He  walked  so  fast  that 
they  had  to  run  to  keep  up  with  him.  When  I  was  coming 
once  from  Leech  lake,  and  stopping  for  dinner  at  Pine  river, 
thirty-four  miles  distant,  an  old  Indian  appeared,  pursuing 
us,  with  a  letter  that  had  been  forgotten.  He  delivered  it, 
and  turned  round  to  trot  home  again,  another  thirty-four 
miles,  when  one  of  the  party  kindly  sent  him  into  the  hotel  to 
get  his  dinner.    He  was  an  old  man,  of  about  sixty  yearn 

Along  in  the  70?s  and  80?s  the  mail  was  carried  by  an  Ojib- 
way on  foot  from  White  Earth  to  Red  Lake,  and  back,  once 
a  week.  The  distance  between  the  places  is  80  or  90  miles, 
and  was  through  an  uninhabited  wilderness,  with  only  one 
house  on  the  way.  On  Monday  the  man  usually  walked  25  or 
32  miles,  and  camped;  the  next  day  he  walked  32  or  40  miles, 
and  camped;  the  third  day  he  arrived  at  Red  Lake  by  noon. 
After  resting  a  day  he  repeated  the  trip  by  return  to  White 
Earth.    His  mail   sack  weighed  sometimes  from  50  to  75 


THE  OTEBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  105 

pounds;  and  in  addition  he  had  to  carry  Ms  provisions  and 
blanket.  In  winter  the  roads  were  deep  with  snow,  the  trail 
hardly  broken,  and  in  summer  he  was  devoured  night  and 
day  by  mosquitoes,  and  could  only  live  at  all  by  switching  his 
neck  and  face  constantly  with  twigs  and  leaves.  He  was  paid 
one  dollar  a  day,  and  his  provisions.  Usually  one  Indian  car- 
ried the  mail  only  a  little  time,  when  he  gave  way  to  another. 
Allan  Jourdan,  now  deceased,  a  half-breed,  carried  it  the 
longest,  three  months.  Once  while  the  poor  exhausted  car- 
rier was  sleeping  at  Wild  Bice  river,  his  clothing  caught  fire 
from  his  camp  fire,  and  his  limbs  were  dreadfully  burned.  He 
was  carried  by  men  on  a  litter  to  White  Earth,  and  after  a 
long  illness  recovered. 

To  illustrate  how  the  Indians  look  on  walking,  even  the 
most  severe,  as  no  work,  I  may  tell  the  remark  of  an  old 
blind  woman,  Bugwudj-ique  (The  Woman  of  the  Wilderness). 
She  was  in  my  study  when  an  Indian,  the  Bed  Lake  mail-car- 
rier, came  in.  After  some  conversation,  she  found  he  was  a 
relative  and  tenderly  kissed  him.  Then  she  asked  him  what 
he  did  for  a  living.  He  told  her  he  carried  the  mail.  "0 — o," 
said  she,  using  the  woman's  long  drawn  out  exclamation  of 
surprise,  "isn't  that  nice,  no  work  at  all  to  do;  only  to  pick 
up  your  money  at  the  end  of  the  road." 

LONGEVITY;    RECOLLECTIONS  BY  OLD  MEN. 

Many  Indians  live  to  ninety  years  and  upwards,  in  con- 
stant suffering  from  hunger,  lack  of  clothing,  and  cold,  and  m 
the  most  unsanitary  conditions  In  1897  died  Mndibewintni, 
at  the  age  of  ninety-two  years.  He  was  the  Leech  Lake  In- 
dian who  in  1839  remained  behind,  hiding  in  ambush,  after  the 
treaty  of  peace  near  Fort  Snelling,  and  killed  the  Sioux,  bring- 
ing as  a  result  the  disastrous  battle  in  Battle  Hollow  at 
Stillwater,  and  another  battle,  which  proved  fatal  to  more 
than  a  hundred  Ojibways.  For  many  years  his  life  was  in 
danger  from  the  rage  of  those  who  had  lost  relatives  on  that 
disastrous  day.  Though  often  urged,  he  never  would  become 
a  Christian,  saying  that  he  had  been  the  cause  of  too  muck 
Mood  having  been  shed,  that  God  would  not  forgive  him. 
T^e  oldest  man  who  has  died  in  the  present  generation  was 


106  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Gegwedjisa  (Trying  to  Walk,  as  nearly  as  it  can  be  translated) 
of  Leech  Lake,  who  was  considered  by  the  traders,  after  care- 
ful investigation,  to  be  a  hundred  and  fifteen  years  old.  Con- 
versing with  him  about  twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago,  I  found 
that  he  perfectly  remembered  General  Pike's  visit  to  Leech 
lake,  which  was  in  February,  1806,  and  described  him.  Being 
asked  at  what  age  he  was  then,  he  said  he  was  married  and 
had  a  daughter  "so  high/7  running  about  He  was  probably 
twenty-five  years  old  then.  Indians  never  know  their  age,  but 
describe  themselves  as  being  "so  high,"  if  it  was  in  their  child- 
hood, when  some  noted  event  happened,  such  as  "when  the 
Indians  nearly  all  died  of  the  small-pox,"  or  "at  the  time  of 
the  great  sickness  caused  by  the  rotten  flour  issued  after  the 
payment." 

Old  Shay-day-ence  told  me  that  when  a  child  he  remem- 
bered seeing  old  men  with  the  hair  of  their  heads  all  pulled 
out  (such  as  we  see  in  the  pictures  of  Indians)  and  only  the 
scalp  lock  left.  He  said  the  old  fellows  used  to  come  into  the 
wigwam  where  he  was,  and,  bowing,  as  it  were,  alternately  to 
one  side  and  the  other,  would  say  in  a  deep  guttural  voice, 
"Oongh,  oongh."  He  said  he  was  mortally  afraid  of  them  and 
their  smooth  scalps.  He  said  the  hair  was  pulled  out  very 
quickly,  a  handful  at  a  time,  and  that  it  caused  them  very  lit- 
tle pain.  The  same  old  man  was  once  with  me  in  St.  Paul, 
about  the  year  1882,  I  think,  and  we  sat  on  a  hill,  the  Park 
Place  property,  I  believe,  overlooking  the  city.  For  some  time 
he  did  not  recognize  the  place,  it  was  so  changed  by  the  build- 
ings; then  all  of  a  sudden  it  came  back  to  him  and  he  rec- 
ognized it.  "There,"  said  he,  pointing  to  a  certain  place,  "was 
Little  Crow's  village;  and  there  was  where  the  road  led  out 
of  his  village  into  the  country,  and  it  was  beside  that  road  that 
two  Indians  and  I  were  secreted,  when  two  women,  I  think, 
and  a  man,  not  suspecting  any  danger,  came  out  along  the 
path  and  were  killed  and  scalped  by  our  party,  who  then  made 
off  to  the  Ojibway  country."  Such  was  life  in  St.  Paul  at 
that  early  time.  He  did  not  say  that  he  killed  any  of  them, 
and  I  hope  he  did  not;  but  even  if  he  did,  being  a  heathen  man 
at  that  time,  and  a  recognized  state  of  war  existing,  and  it  be- 
ing according  to  their  ideas  of  right  or  even  merit,  we  should 
be  slow  to  pronounce  judgment  in  the  case. 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  107 

HABITS  IN  WORK;    LOGGING,  RIVER  DRIVING,  GARDENING. 

When  the  Ojibway  man  works,  strange  to  say,  he  works 
very  fast,  much  faster  than  a  white  man.  Perhaps  that  is 
one  reason  why  they  so  soon  get  tired  of  it  and  give  it  up, 
because  they  exert  themselves  so  strongly  while  they  are  at 
it  This  is  seen,  for  example,  in  hoeing  a  field.  The  men,  and 
the  women  also,  are  excellent  with  the  ax,  being  trained  to  it 
from  earliest  infancy.  When  some  boys  whom  I  sent  to  school 
were  in  Illinois,  the  people  there  used  to  turn  out  to  see  those 
boys  chop.  Though  it  was  a  wooded  country,  none  there 
could  handle  the  ax:  as  they. 

Ojibways  hired  in  a  logging  camp  usually  do  not  stay  very 
long;  a  week  or  two,  till  they  get  a  little  money  ahead.  Then 
they  go  home  to  spend  it  and  rest.  This  is  a  relic  of  the  old 
life,  when  a  period  of  violent  exertion  was  succeeded  by  a  pro- 
longed rest  Occasionally,  however,  one  will  be  found  who 
will  stay  in  a  logging  camp  all  winter.  The  lumbermen  say 
that  while  they  do  work  they  are  as  good  hands  as  any.  They 
like  working  with  the  ax  better  than  almost  any  other  labor. 

One  kind  of  work  they  excel  in  and  are  particularly  fond 
of,  river-driving.  The  excitement,  the  continual  change,  just 
suits  them.  Monotony  in  anything  they  cannot  stand.  The 
constant  repetition  of  performing  the  same  act  over,  over  and 
over  again,  as  white  people  do,  for  instance,  in  manufactur- 
ing, is  insupportable  to  them. 

Contrary  to  what  would  be  supposed,  the  Ojibway  excels 
the  white  man  in  making  a  farm  or  garden,  when  he  wants 
to  do  it;  not  in  wheat-farming,  however,  or  such  farming  as 
he  has  not  been  used  to,  but  such  as  he  knows,  vegetable  rais- 
ing. A  skilled  white  farmer  and  gardener  went  on  a  journey 
of  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles  through  the  white  man's  coun- 
try from  Gull  Lake  settlement  to  Hubbard  and  back;  and  he 
told  me  the  best  gardens  by  far  that  he  saw  on  the  road  were 
Indians'  gardens.  The  white  men  could  not  begin  to  equal 
them.  Similarly  a  resident  of  Bemidji,  an  old  farmer,  told 
me  that  the  best  garden  in  all  that  region  was  that  raised  by 
Shenaw-ishkunk,  the  old  Ojibway  who  had  always  lived  on 
the  town-site  of  Bemidji.    The  Indian  has  genius;  he  can  (k> 


108  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  .SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

anything  he  wants  to,  and  his  genius  shows  in  iihe  looks  of 
his  garden,  even  though  it  be  a  small  spot  he  cultivates. 

SALTJTATlONS.-AStATIC  ORIGIN. 

The  O  jib  ways  have,  in  their  own  language,  no  word  of 
salutation  at  meeting  or  parting.  They  have,  however,  adopt- 
ed from  the  French  the  phrase,  "Bon  jour."  As  there  is  no 
"r"  in  their  language,  the  nearest  they  can  come  to  it  is  "Bo 
zhoo,"  which  is  now  their  salutation  at  meeting  and  parting. 
However,  when  a  guest  is  leaving,  the  proper  thing  to  say  to 
him  is  "Madjan,  madjan"  (go,  go).  Often  I  have  seen  Qjibways 
who  were  good  friends  and  had  not  seen  each  other  for  a  long 
time  meet  unexpectedly  on  the  trail  in  the  woods,  look  a* 
each  other  affectionately  for  quite  a  long  time,  and  then  pass 
on  without  a  single  word  being  said  on  either  side,  not  even 
"bo  zhoo." 

Some  of  the  Mdians  have  a  very  Chinese  cast  of  features. 
The  way  the  eyes  are  set,  and  the  color  of  the  skin,  leave  no 
doubt  of  a  Chinese  or  Japanese  origin.  I  saw  one  Indian 
neair  Winnibigoshish  who  m  his  looks  seemed  to  me  as  verita- 
ble a  Chinaman  as  any  that  ever  left  China. 

VISITING;   DELIBERATENESS  IN  THINKING  AND  SPEAKING, 

When  the  Ojibway  pays  a  visit  to  a  white  man,  his  time 
is  any  time  from  the  dawn  till  after  bedtime,  and  he  enjoys 
making  a  good  long  visit,  of  many  hours'  duration  or  all  day. 
This  is  because  he  has  no  particular  business  to  call  him  away, 
and  he  is  deliberate  in  all  his  movements.  If  a  man,  he  smokes 
his  long-stemmed  Indian  pipe  a  good  part  of  the  time,  and 
talks.  Smoking  seems  to  assist  his  mental  operations;  and 
when  anything  difficult  is  to  be  thought  out  he  instinctively 
reaches  for  his  pipe.  He  does  not  need  to  be  entertained,  ass 
a  white  visitor  would,  with  small  talk;  he  is  content  to  sit 
and  think,  and  absorb  the,  to  him,  unfamiliar  surroundings. 
However,  like  every  other  man,  he  is  pleased  at  being  occa- 
sionally spoken  to,  and  taken  notice  of. 

When  a  woman  pays  a  visit  she  does  not  need,  as  a  white 
woman,  to  be  amused  or  entertained;  she  will  sit  for  hours 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  109 

saying  nothing,  but  perfectly  satisfied,  taking  in  everything, 
the  appearance  of  the  house,  the  manner  of  housekeeping,  the 
people.  It  would  be  a  bore  to  her  to  be  talked  to.  She  has 
come  there  to  enjoy  herself  in  her  own  quiet  way  by  looking. 
White  women  at  first  think  they  must  entertain  their  Indian 
sister  visitor  by  talking  to  her,  as  they  would  to  a  white 
visitor;  but  soon  they  find  out  the  better  way,  namely,  to  let 
her  alone.  If  she  is  talked  to  she  answers  in  monosyllables, 
and  manifests  no  wish  to  keep  up  an  animated  conversation. 
But  all  the  time  she  is  taking  in  everything.  By  and  by, 
after  she  has  sat  perhaps  for  hours,  and  not  before,  she  will 
tell  what  she  has  come  for,  get  it,  and  leave.  In  the  same 
way  a  man  will  sit  a  long  time,  and  not  tell  his  business;  or,  if 
asked,  will  merely  say  that  he  came  "for  nothing."  By  and 
by,  when  he  is  ready  to  leave,  he  will  at  last  do  his  errand. 

Indians  are  much  more  deliberate  in  thinking  and  in  speak- 
ing than  white  people.  We  know  how  fast  white  people, 
women  especially,  will  sometimes  chatter,  talking  fast,  three 
or  four  at  once.  Oftentimes  no  thinking  seems  to  accompany 
the  speaking.  The  Indian  always  thinks  as  he  speaks,  and 
only  speaks  so  far  as  he  thinks.  There  is  a  volume  of  small 
talk  among  us  that  is  absent  among  them.  With  them  is 
deliberation,  For  instance,  if  one  goes  into  the  house  or  wig- 
wam, and  makes  the  formal  friendly  inquiry,  "Are  you  all 
well?"  the  man  or  woman  thinks  a  considerable  time  before 
answering,  and  then  gives  the  exact  state  of  the  health  of  the 
family.  With  us  it  would  be  answered  as  unthinkingly  as 
it  is  asked.  The  same  deliberation  and  thought  of  what  is 
said  runs  through  all  their  intercourse.  There  are  some  wom- 
en, never  men,  who  talk  at  once  and  somewhat  fast,  but  rare- 
ly so. 

O  JIB  WAY  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN    IN   HOUSEWORK. 

If  the  women  have  a  piece  of  work  to  do,  as  washing  a 
church  floor,  or  anything  else,  they  like  to  do  it  as  a  frolic,  a 
number  joining  together  in  it,  and  making  it  easy  by  continual 
jokes  and  laughter.    To  do  it  alone  would  seem  much  harder. 

In  doing  any  work,  or  anything  else,  an  Indian  cannot  be 
forced  or  driven;    he  can  only  be  led,  and  allowed  to  do  it 


110  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

voluntarily.  If  attempted  to  be  driven,  lie  will  simply  stop, 
and  not  do  anything,  and  lie  cannot  be  compelled.  For  in- 
stance, my  wife,  who  had  Indian  girls  to  help  in  the  housework 
for  many  years,  found  that  if  she  would  say  to  an  Indian  girl, 
as  she  would  to  a  white  girl,  "Do  this  now,"  pointing  out  some 
piece  of  work,  however  simple,  she  could  not  get  it  done.  But 
if  she  would  show  it  to  the  girl,  and  say  that  she  wished  it 
done,  and  go  off  and  leave  her  alone  for  five  minutes,  she 
would  find  it  done  when  she  came  back.  The  Indian  nature 
rebels  against  being  driven  to  do  anything,  but  must  do  it  vol- 
untarily if  at  all.  So  all  people  who  have  sense  never  try  to 
drive  Indians  to  anything.  By  leading  them  to  it,  it  can  be 
got  done.  That  is  the  way  they  are  made;  no  people  in  the 
world  so  unlikely  candidates  for  slaves  as  they.  Every  In- 
dian is  innately  proud  and  rebels  against  obeying  any  direct 
command. 

Indian  girls  do  not  take  naturally  to  housework.  The 
monotony  of  doing  the  same  acts  over  and  over  again,  as  wash- 
ing dishes,  cooking,  etc.,  is  insupportable  to  them.  Conse- 
quently a  few  weeks  of  it  is  as  much  as  they  usually  can  stand. 
The  old  life  was  a  life  of  continual  change  and  excitement; 
the  treadmill  comes  hard.  My  wife  has  never  found  any  In- 
dian woman  who  could  do  three  good  days'  work  in  a  week; 
a  few  can  do  two,  but  the  majority  can  only  brace  up  once  a 
week  to  do  a  real  good  day's  work. 

In  an  Indian  village  where  there  are  hundreds  of  women 
and  girls,  very  poor  and  very  much  in  need  of  everything, 
there  are  yet  very  few  or  none  at  all  whom  one  can  get  even 
to  attempt  to  do  any  housework.  For  instance,  I  have  known 
the  government  blacksmith  at  Leech  Lake,  where  there  must 
have  been  hundreds  of  women  and  girls,  scour  the  white  man's 
country  for  a  distance  of  sixty-five  miles  from  Leech  Lake  try- 
ing to  hire  a  white  girl  to  help  in  the  housework.  No  girl 
or  woman  at  Leech  Lake  could  be  hired.  People  may  think 
that  when  they  go  to  the  Indian  country  they  will  be  waited 
on  like  lords;  but  the  truth  is  that  each  one  must  do  every- 
thing for  himself.  A  very  high  price  must  be  paid,  and  very 
imperfect  service  will  be  rendered,  if  at  all. 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  Ill 

ADVICE  TO  TRAVELERS  IN   THE   OJIBWAY   COUNTRY. 

Time  does  not  run  in  the  Indian  country.  One  may  make 
all  arrangements,  for  instance,  to  start  on  a  journey  at  a  cer- 
tain hour,  but  when  the  time  comes  a  great  many  things  will 
be  found  to  be  wanting,  and  the  start  cannot  be  made.  The 
canoe  has  not  been  made  watertight  with  pitch,  or  paddies  are 
wanting,  or  provisions,  or  something,  or  many  things.  There 
is  no  use  in  fretting  or  fuming;  it  is  the  custom  of  the  country, 
and  the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  fall  in  with  it  The  Indian  is 
a  leisurely  man,  and  does  not  wish  to  be  hurried;  in  fact,  he 
does  not  hurry,  and  there  is  no  use  in  trying  to  hurry  him.  It 
will  only  make  things  worse.  There  is  plenty  of  time;  one 
day  will  do  just  as  well  as  another,  or  one  time  as  well  as 
another.  So  the  traveler  has  need  of  patience,  and  must  con- 
form to  the  ideas  of  the  people. 

If  the  traveler  wishes  some  piece  of  work  done,  and  tells 
his  head  man  to  have  it  done  at  once,  he  will  probably  not 
get  it  done  in  that  way.  The  head  man  will  answer  that  he 
will,  after  a  while,  call  his  men  together,  and  they  will  talk  it 
over.  They  will  have  a  sort  of  council  over  it  and  smoke,  and 
then  do  it.  The  men  are  all  admirable  canoemen  and  pack- 
ers, and  will  do  a  good  day's  work,  but  in  their  own  way, 
and  according  to  their  ideas. 

OJIBWAY  PERSONAL  NAMES. 

One  of  the  things  about  the  Ojibways  that  seems  strange  to 
us  is  the  mystical  importance  attaching  to  a  name,  and  the 
concealment  of  names.  No  Ojibway  man  or  woman  will  tell 
his  name,  unless  he  has  become  very  much  Americanized.  If 
a  name  has  to  be  given,  say  to  be  put  to  some  document,  and 
the  man  is  asked  his  name,  he  will  not  give  it;  but,  after  a 
long  period  of  hesitation  and  embarrassment,  he  will  indicate 
some  other  man  who  will  tell  his  name.  That  man,  finally, 
after  prolonged  consideration,  mentions  it,  and  when  it  comes 
out,  a  sensation  goes  over  the  assembly  as  if  some  great  secret 
had  been  let  out.  So  in  a  store,  if  the  name  of  the  intending 
debtor  be  not  known  to  the  storekeeper,  and  he  has  to  know 
it  to  charge  the  goods,  he  asks,  with  a  manner  indicating 
profound  secrecy,  some  one  else  to  tell  him  the  man's  name, 


112  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

and  it  is  given  to  him  in  a  whisper,  as  a  great  secret.  Often 
I  have  asked  a  man  his  wife's  name,  and  after  long  hesitation 
he  would  confess  that  he  had  never  heard  it.  On  questioning, 
he  would  admit  that  he  had  been  married  tb  her  fifteen  or 
twenty  years.  This  secrecy  is  about  their  Ojibway  name; 
about  their  English  name,  if  they  have  any,  they  have  no  such 
feeling. 

The  reason  of  this  reticence,  which  seems  so  queer  to  us,  is 
that  by  them  great  importance  is  attached,  as  in  the  Old 
Testament,  to  a  name;  that  the  names  all  mean  something, 
as  Abraham,  father  of  a  multitude,  Isaac,  laughter,  Jacob, 
supplanter,  and  that  the  name  is  given  as  a  religious  act.  So 
a  father  says  to  his  son,  "My  son,  I  give  you  this  name;  it  has 
a  spiritual  signification;  it  is  to  you  a  sacred  thing;  the  spirits 
give  it  to  you;  if  you  make  light  of  it,  or  mock  it,  or  disclose 
it>  I  do  not  say  that  the  Great  Spirit  will  kill  you,  but  you 
will  have  disgraced  yourself."  Hence  is  the  concealment  of 
names,  the  reverence  with  which  names  are  regarded. 

REGARD  TO   PROMISES. 

The  heathen  Indian  does  not  have  the  regard  to  a  promise 
on  his  part,  or  to  his  pledged  word,  that  tradition  on  that  sub- 
ject would  make  us  believe.  While  it  is  true  that  treaties  are 
not  first  broken  by  him,  it  is  also  true  that  in  ordinary  things 
he  does  not  consider  his  word  or  engagement  very  binding  on 
him.  His  promise  to  do  anything,  or  to  return  money  loaned, 
or  to  work,  or  an  engagement,  in  fact  his  promise  in  anything, 
sits  very  lightly  upon  him.  It  is  a  little  singular  that  in  the 
face  of  this  it  is  his  habit  to  hold  the  white  man  very  strictly 
to  his  promises  to  him,  and  to  the  very  time,  moment,  and 
every  particular  circumstance.  He  is  not  willing  to  admit 
any  excuse,  and  will  hold  him  to  it  to  the  very  last  point.  It 
is  proper  to  say,  though,  that  women,  as  with  ourselves,  are 
a  great  deal  more  reliable  than  men,  for  if  one  loans  a  small 
sum  of  money  to  an  Ojibway  woman,  the  chances  are  that 
she  will  pay  it.  The  opposite  is  more  probable  with  the  man, 
I  have  always  found,  too,  more  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness 
in  old  women  than  in  any  other  class.    Let  one  be  lost,  or 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  113 

suffering,  or  belated,  or  cold,  or  needing  direction,  and  he  will 
find  the  old  woman  one  who  will  help  him,  more  probably 
than  any  one  else.  Perhaps  their  own  long  experience  of 
great  suffering  has  taught  them  compassion  for  others. 

EXPECTATION  OF  GIFTS. 

When  a  white  man  approaches  a  camp  of  heathen  Indians, 
they  will  often  call  out  from  a  long  distance,  as  far  as  they 
can  see  him,  "We  are  very  hungry;  we  are  starving  to  death; 
we  have  not  eaten  a  morsel  for  three  days."  At  the  same 
time  they  laugh  heartily  and  slap  their  thighs,  as  if  it  was  the 
best  joke  in  the  world.  Likewise  they  often  tell  their  visitors, 
with  great  insistence,  of  their  extreme  poverty,  and  the  hunger 
they  suffer.  They  seem  to  think  there  is  a  special  merit  in  it, 
in  fact  seem  proud  of  it.  Their  poverty  is  a  favorite  subject 
of  talk  with  them.  Often  two  families  will  chaff  each  other, 
in  a  good-natured  way,  about  it 

From  the  habit,  in  former  times,  of  United  States  Indian 
agents  and  military  officers,  to  give  something  to  the  Indians 
when  they  met  them,  it  has  come  now  to  be  very  natural  for 
the  heathen  Indians  to  expect  the  white  man  to  give  them 
something,  as  food  or  money,  when  he  meets  them,  and  they 
are  apt  to  ask  him  for  it,  but  especially  for  tobacco.  From 
that  old  custom,  the  first  thought  that  naturally  arises  now 
in  the  heathen  man's  mind,  when  he  sees  a  white  man  ap- 
proaching, is  that  he  will  get  something  from  him.  Knowing 
also  that  the  white  man  is  so  rich,  and  they  so  poor,  naturally 
strengthens  that  feeling. 

LACK  OP  SYMPATHY;    SENSE  OP  HUMOR. 

The  Indians,  strange  to  say,  are  not  prone  to  assist  each 
other  in  misfortune  or  necessity,  as  other  people  are.  Where, 
for  instance,  a  number  are  hauling  loads  together,  with  teams, 
and  something  befalls  one,  the  others  are  apt  to  pass  him  by 
and  leave  him  to  shift  for  himself  as  best  he  can.  Two  or 
three  years  ago  an  old  man  and  his  wife  were  about  eighteen 
miles  from  the  White  Earth  Agency,  when  in  attempting  to 
mount  his  horse  he  broke  his  thigh.    They  had  five  horses, 

8 


114  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

and  they  bad  to  give  an  Indian  who  was  there  one  of  those 
horses,  before  he  would  take  a  message  to  the  doctor,  only 
eighteen  miles  distant.  It  was  worth  about  a  dollar  to  do  it. 
That  is  about  the  usual  way;  they  are  apt  to  exact  a  very 
high  and  extortionate  price  for  anything  they  do  for  each 
other. 

This  brings  to  mind  also  that  they  are  very  calculating 
and  mercenary.  A  thing  is  never  done  out  of  generosity  or 
goodness,  but  with  an  eye  to  advantage.  If  one  gives  a  pres- 
ent, for  instance,  to  another,  it  is  calculated  that  by  a  return 
present,  or  in  some  other  way,  a  greater  advantage  is  to  ac- 
crue to  the  giver.  It  is  true  that  they  share  food  with  any 
one  who  comes,  so  long  as  they  have  it;  and  in  that  way,  if 
one  happens  to  be  industrious  amd  have  food,  he  is  eaten  out 
of  house  and  home  by  a  multitude  of  idle  ones  who  flock  there 
for  that  purpose.  Apart  from  that  custom  of  hospitality, 
they  are  not  given  to  be  generous  in  assisting  each  other,  and 
from  the  unfortunate  they  are  ready  to  exact  the  highest  rate. 

They  are  also  apt  to  be  very  jealous  of  any  one,  as  a  sick 
person  or  one  in  misfortune,  having  his  or  her  wants  relieved. 
They  feel  that  they  alsoi  ought  to  have  a  similar  amount,  or 
even  try  to  get  it  away  from  the  sick  person.  In  this,  as  in 
so  many  other  instances,  I  am  speaking  of  the  heathen  Indians. 

Their  sense  of  humor  and  of  the  ludicrous  is  exceedingly 
keen,  more  so  than  in  oui*  own  race.  No  people  are  quicker 
than  they  to  see  the  funny  side  of  anything;  and  no  people 
laugh  at  it  more.  Tney  are  capital  at  telling  funny  stories, 
and  thoroughly  enjoy  fun.  They  seek  after  it  constantly; 
they  brighten  their  lives  with  it.  Some  of  them  are  what 
one  would  call  "jolly"  always. 

HEATHEN  DANCES  AND  THEIR  INFLUENCE. 

The  heathen  dance,  with  the  beating  of  the  drum,  exer- 
cises a  wonderful  fascination  over  the  Indians.  When  they 
become  Christians,  they  themselves  understand  that  they  give 
up  the  heathen  dance,  for  the  two  are  the  opposites  of  each 
other;  but  yet  they  are  drawn  into  it  again  and  again.  There 
seems  to  be  a  chord  that  carries  the  throbbing  of  the  drum 
into  the  Indian's  heart.    The  drummers  sit  in  the  center. 


THE  O  JIB  WAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  115 

chanting;  the  men  start  up,  and  dance  round  them,  excited, 
quivering,  whooping.  They  go  through  all  the  motions  of 
sighting,  pursuing,  killing,  and  scalping  an  enemy;  and  it  is 
most  interesting  to  see  them.  Then  there  is  an  interval  or 
rest;  the  drums  cease,  the  dancers  sit  down,  and  all  is  quiet. 
Next  some  man  dressed  in  ancient  Indian  garb,  nearly  naked, 
painted,  with  feathers  in  his  hair  and  a  tomahawk  in  his 
hand,  gets  into  the  arena  and  makes  an  address.  The  never- 
exhausted  subject  of  the  addresses  is  about  killing  and  scalp- 
ing enemies,  perhaps  tearing  out  their  hearts  and  drinking  the 
blood.  As  the  man  describes  how  the  shot  brought  down  the 
enemy,  or  how  the  tomahawk  cleft  his  skull,  the  drum  gives  a 
sympathetic  tap,  as  each  life  goes  out  When  he  has  finished, 
the  drumis  start  with  redoubled  vehemence,  the  drummers  ac- 
companying them  with  a  high-pitched  chant;  while  a  circle  of 
women  singers  outside  add  their  shrill  voices.  The  men  are 
dressed  in  moccasins,  cotton  leggings  whdeh  leave  the  thighs 
bare,  breech-clouts,  and  perhaps  shirts,  perhaps  none.  Strings 
of  beads  adorn  their  bodies,  skunk  skins  are  tied  under  their 
knees,  and  strings  of  sleigh  bells  are  wound  round  their  ankles 
or  waists.  Their  faces  have  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow; 
and  their  hair  is  stiff  with  pomatum.  After  they  have  danced 
again,  there  is  silence  once  more,  and  another  orator  rises. 
This  time  the  address  may  be  about  something  of  the  present 
that  is  uppermost  on  their  minds,  some  grievance  under  which 
they  are  laboring,  or  some  important  project  that  is  on  hand. 
At  the  dances  all  important  things  are  discussed;  and  if  there 
be  any  deviltry  on  hand,  there  is  the  place  where  they  work 
themselves  up  to  it  The  dance  is  the  arena  where  they  strive 
to  outshine  each  other  in  eloquence,  in  boldness  of  design;  and 
where,  in  the  originality  of  their  projects,  they  bid  for  popu- 
lar favor. 

In  the  excitement  of  the  dance,  moreover,  and  in  order 
to  gain  the  reputation  of  great  men,  they  give  away  their 
property  to  each  other,  a  horse,  a  blanket,  a  gun,  anything 
they  have.  The  man,  as  he  goes  capering  round  the  ring  and 
whooping,  looking  here  and  there  as  if  he  was  uncertain  what 
to  do,  suddenly  sticks  a  rod  in  the  ground  before  another 
man.    That  is  the  pledge  of  a  horse  that  he  gives  to  that 


116  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

man,  and  then  all  the  others  look  on  him  with  admiration; 
he  is  strong-hearted  and  brave;  he  does  not  mind  giving  away 
the  only  horse  he  has.  It  is  wonderful  how  the  excitement 
of  the  dance  works  on  them  to  give  away  all  they  have.  I 
have  known  a  government  employee  to  go  and  strip  the  bed 
clothing  from  his  wife's  bed,  and  give  it  away  in  the  dance. 
That  is  one  reason  why  they  keep  up  the  dance,  to  get  pres- 
ents. The  little  children  from  the  schools,  if  there  are  any 
schools,  are  there,  imitating  their  elders;  they  have  jumped  out 
the  school  windows  to  get  to  the  dance,  and  are  taking  off 
their  school  clothes,  given  them  by  the  United  States  govern- 
ment or  by  charitable  persons,  and  are  giving  them  away. 

Off  to  one  side  of  the  dance  is  a  group  of  perhaps  thirty 
men,  who  do  not  seem  to  care  for  it,  but  are  engaged  in  some- 
thing more  substantial.  They  are  gambling.  Every  dance 
appears  to  require  a  gambling  annex.  Outside  the  circle  of 
the  actual  dancers  are  large  numbers  of  spectators,  both  men 
and  women,  who  sometimes  join  in,  but  some  are  merely 
spectators. 

When  night  has  drawn  a  veil,  then  commences  a  sad  scene 
of  debauchery  between  the  sexes.  That  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal reasons  for  having  the  dance;  and  that,  as  well  as  the 
gambling  annex  and  other  things,  is  considered  to  be  proper 
and  a  legitimate  part  of  the  carousal.  The  dance  and  the 
drum  are  the  religion  of  the  heathen  Indians.  Ask  a  man 
what  religion  he  is  of,  and  he  will  reply  that  he  belongs  in 
the  dance. 

The  next  day  one  will  see  the  household  goods  violently 
cast  out  of  a  cabin,  and  will  hear  sounds  of  violent  quarreling 
within.  The  husband  and  wife  were  at  the  dance  last  night; 
one  was  unfaithful,  and  this  is  the  breaking  up  of  the  family. 
All  the  young  girls  get  ruined  in  the  excitement,  of  the  dance 
as  they  grow  up.  When  a  Christian  man  begins  to  dance,  or 
a  farmer,  he  loses  manhood,  industry,  every  manly  quality, 
and  speedily  goes  back  to  the  blanket  and  the  wigwam  again. 

The  fascination  of  the  dance  carries  them  long  distances, 
perhaps  a  hundred  miles,  on  foot,  men  and  women,  to  the 
next  Indian  village  to  dance.  I  have  seen  the  women  go  from 
Pine  Point  to  Leech  Lake,  sixty-five  miles,  to  dance,  in  the 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  117 

dead  of  winter,  wading  through  snow  up  to  their  knees,  over 
an  unbroken  trail  that  I  could  not  go  through  with  my  ponies 
till  they  broke  the  road;  yet  they  carried  their  children  on 
their  backs,  and  dragged  some  of  them  through  the  snow, 
packing  their  blankets  and  provisions,  pots  and  kettles,  and 
camping  out  every  night  And  when  they  arrived  at  Leech 
Lake,  they  wTere  as  proud  of  jumping  higher,  or  of  showing 
off  some  new  touch  in  which  they  thought  they  excelled,  as 
any  belle  among  us. 

The  authorities,  as  in  Canada,  should  long  ago  have  pro- 
hibited the  heathen  dance,  as  the  very  antipodes  of  all  civiliza- 
tion and  of  all  progress;  instead  of  that,  most  of  the  Indian 
agents,  caring  nothing  for  the  Indians,  notwithstanding  the 
entreaties  of  the  missionaries,  have  given  it  full  swing  or  en- 
couraged it.  The  winter  before  the  Wounded  Knee  outbreak, 
a  party  of  fifty  of  the  worst  Sioux  came  to  White  Earth 
Agency,  and  taught  the  Ojibways  the  new  "Sioux  dance," 
which  caught  among  them  like  wildfire.  In  spite  of  the  re- 
monstrances of  the  missionaries  that  they  should  be  sent  home, 
they  were  furnished  with  passes  to  go  to  every  village  of  the 
Ojibways,  and  were  fed  with  government  provisions.  Yet  the 
Goths  and  Vandals  did  not  play  any  more  havoc  with  the  civ- 
ilization of  the  Roman  Empire  than  those  fellows  did  with 
everything  that  the  government  should  do,  and  that  the  mis- 
sionaries were  trying  to  do  for  them.  By  the  new  dances  they 
introduced,  the  practice  of  which  lived  for  years  and  until 
the  present  time,  they  did  more  harm  to  the  Ojibways  than 
all  the  money  the  government  expended  on  them  did  them 
good.  Later  the  government  ordered  all  Sioux  excluded;  but 
the  agents  allowed  them  there  just  the  same,  and  sometimes 
encouraged  them. 

UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT  AGENTS  AND  SCHOOLS. 

In  1872  there  was  a  most  admirable  Indian  agent  over  the 
Ojibways,  under  whom  they  made  progress  that  was  most 
wonderful,  the  Rev.  E.  P.  Smith.  He  surrounded  himself  with 
employees  who  were  like  himself,  and  under  them  the  Indians 
progressed  like  something  growing.  But  he  was  promoted  to  be 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  and  for  a  time 


118  MINNESOTA  HISTOKICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  progress  stopped.  Soon  another  equally  admirable  agent 
came,  Hon.  Lewis  Stowe.  He  and  his  excellent  wife  were  like 
a  father  and  mother  to  the  Indians,  and  did  everything  for 
them  that  love  and  devotion  and  ability  could  do.  They  were 
the  Indians'  dear  and  loving  friends.  He  was  a  practical 
farmer,  a  practical  carpenter;  and  one  could  see  him  out  in 
the  field  all  the  time  with  the  Indians,  showing  them  how  to 
plow,  how  to  do  all  kinds  of  work.  A  better  agent  never  went 
among  the  Indians,  nor  one  who  knew  better  how  to  raise 
them  than  Major  Stowe;  and  if  he  could  have  had  his  own 
way  and  been  sustained,  he  could  have  brought  them  to  any- 
thing. But  he  was  worried,  hounded,  and  abused  by  inter- 
ested parties;  and  at  the  end  of  his  term  he  had  to  leave. 
There  has  since  been  one  admirable  agent,  Col.  T.  J.  Sheehan, 
the  hero  of  Fort  Ridgely,  and  he  had  exactly  the  same  experi- 
ence as  the  other  two  agents,  Smith  and  Stowe.  Col.  Shee- 
han's  heart  was  fully  set  in  him  to  do  the  Indians  good,  and 
he  knew  exactly  how  to  set  about  it.  He  had  a  natural  faculty 
of  being  an  admirable  Indian  agent  He  was  very  energetic, 
was  kind  and  just  to  all,  and  kept  a  sort  of  mother's  hand 
over  everything.  But  the  same  influence  that  had  spoiled  the 
salvation  of  the  Indians  under  agents  Smith  and  Stowe  were 
opposed  to  him,  and  he  had  to  leave. 

Besides  these  three  admirable  agents,  there  have  been  six 
others,  nine  in  all;  and  what  sort  of  men  they  were  and  what 
sort  of  administrations  they  gave  may  be  sufficiently  under- 
stood by  its  being  stated  that  they  were  politicians,  appointed 
by  politicians,  as  a  reward  for  political  services.  Under  them 
everything  that  had  been  done  under  Smith,  Stowe,  and  Shee- 
han, went  down.  The  Indians  largely  gave  up  farming  and 
civilization;  fields  were  abandoned;  and  they  wTent  back  to  old 
heathen  dances  and  heathen  ways.  Those  of  the  missionaries 
wTho  tried  could  not  make  head  against  the  maladministration 
of  the  agents  and  their  employees.  One  of  those  agents  was 
fair;  the  rest  were  the  poorest  that  could  be  imagined,  and 
their  influence  upon  the  Indians  was  disastrous.  Some  of 
them  openly  encouraged  the  Indians  to  go  back  to  the  old 
heathen  dances  and  ways.  The  employees  of  those  agents 
naturally  took  their  tone  from  them,  so  all  government  in- 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  119 

fluence  was  on  the  side  of  demoralization.  There  were  such 
agents  and  such  influences  reigning  for  about  sixteen  out  of 
the  last  twenty-five  years.  There  were  three  good  agents,  one 
fair,  and  five  of  the  kind  spoken  of.  Politics  has  been  the 
curse  of  the  Indian  service,  and  giving  the  Indians  into  the 
charge  of  such  men  and  such  employees  has  blighted  them. 
The  good  agents  were  most  bitterly  fought,  and  the  govern- 
ment relieved  two  of  them;  the  evil  agents  were  left  in  peace 
and  quiet,  and  the  government  usually  allowed  them  to  com- 
plete their  terms. 

At  Red  Lake  a  typical  event  occurred.  In  1872  and  1873, 
an  admirable  son  of  Vermont  was  agent,  a  one-armed  soldier 
of  his  country,  Major  Pratt.  Like  Smith,  Stowe,  and  Sheehan, 
his  devotion  to  the  Indians  and  his  success  were  remarkable. 
While  everything  was  in  the  full  swing  of  progress,  there 
walked  in  one  day  a  creature,  and  presented  a  paper  to  Pratt, 
superseding  him.  He  was  almost  broken-hearted,  went  to 
the  President  and  showed  him  his  sleeve  emptied  at  Bull  Run, 
proved  to  him  the  progress  made,  and  that  there  had  been  no 
single  complaint;  but  all  was  in  vain.  He  went  back  to  milk- 
ing cows  in  Vermont,  squeezing  two  teats  in  'his  remaining 
hand,  and  the  Red  Lake  Indians  have  never  had  a  good  agent 
since.  The  man  who  superseded  him  soon  gave  a  sample  of 
what  he  was  by  trying  all  ways  to  marry  an  Indian  woman  of 
bad  character,  though  he  had  a  wife  still  living  in  the  East 
Reviewing  this  quarter  of  a  century,  we  must  pronounce  the 
United  States  treatment  of  the  Indians  as  bad,  owing  to  their 
being  handed  over  to  be  the  prey  of  politicians. 

The  good  thing  that  the  government  has  done  in  the  last 
twenty-five  years  is  in  educating  many  Indian  children,  but 
mostly  those  of  ^mixed  blood,  in  schools.  Here  again  for  polit- 
ical purposes  a  great  mistake  was  made  in  having  these 
schools  mostly  away  from  the  reservations,  so  that  the  con- 
gressmen's constituents  could  get  the  money  used  in  the  erec- 
tion and  carrying  on  of  the  schools,  instead  of  having  them 
right  among  the  Indians  where  they  live.  Communities  of 
many  hundreds  of  Indians  were  thus  left  without  schools, 
every  ehild  being  allowed  to  grow  up  in  idleness,  ignorance, 
and  vice,  starving  and  freezing;  while  somewhere  at  hundreds 


120  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

of  miles  distance,  and  where  not  an  Indian  lived  within  miles 
and  miles,  a  costly  building  was  put  up  at  an  expense  of  per- 
haps $50,000,  which  money  alone,  if  used  where  it  ought  to 
have  been  used,  would  have  supplied  every  Indian  settlement 
with  a  modest  school,  costing  $5,000,  sufficient  for  their  needs. 
The  consequence  of  this  policy,  wihich  was  oftentimes  really 
a  policy  to  benefit  some  congressman's  constituents  under  the 
guise  of  educating  Indians,  is  that  the  mixed-bloods,  mostly 
French,  got  all  the  benefit,  for  they  sent  their  children  away 
to  those  schools;  but  the  full-blood  Indians,  wTho  loved  their 
children  too  dearly  to  let  them  go  far  away  from  them,  got 
very  little  benefit. 

TREATIES   WITH   THE   OJTBWAYS. 

Bishop  Whipple,  Judge  Wright,  and  Mr.  Larrabee,  along 
in  the  80's,  negotiated  a  most  excellent  treaty  with  the  Indians 
for  their  pine  and  lands.  It  was  the  best  that  could  have 
been  framed,  both  for  the  Indians  and  for  the  whites.  Inter- 
ested parties,  who  did  not  see  their  way  to  getting  what  they 
wanted  under  that  treaty,  found  means  to  break  it  up,  and 
thereby  inflicted  a  crushing  blow  upon  the  Indians.  Then 
the  same  parties  clamored  for  ex-Senator  Rice  to  make  the 
proper  kind  of  a  treaty  for  them.  He,  with  Bishop  Martin 
Marty,  did  so,  and,  with  the  best  intentions  on  their  part,  they 
made  a  treaty  that  has  worked  very  disastrously  to  the  In- 
dians. To  instance  one  provision  of  it,  the  promising  them  an 
annuity  for  fifty  years  was  done  to  please  the  Indian  traders, 
who  wanted  the  money.  The  practical  effect  of  it  upon  the 
Indians  was,  as  every  one  who  knew  them  foresaw  would  be 
the  case,  to  make  them  almost  entirely  give  up  farming  or 
even  doing  anything  for  a  livelihood;  because  every  Indian 
said  to  himself,  and  many  said  openly,  "I  have  an  annuity,  to 
come  every  year  for  fifty  years,  so  has  my  wife,  so  has  each 
of  my  children;  no  need  for  me  to  do  anything."  If  their 
worst  enemy  had  tried  to  devise  the  best  scheme  for  keeping 
them  worthless  blanket  Indians  always,  he  could  have  thought 
of  nothing  more  effective  than  the  annuity  for  fifty  years. 
The  general  feeling  of  the  heathen  Indians,  and  of  many  Chris- 
tians, when  the  provision  was  put  in  the  treaty,  was,  "The 


THE  OJIBWATS  IN  MINNESOTA.  121 

government  has  now  got  our  lands;  we  wish  to  be  fed  always, 
and  just  to  dance."  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  the 
Rice  treaty  of  1889,  besides  containing  the  above  very  objec- 
tionable point,  has  been  broken  by  the  government  in  many 
respects. 

The  government  also  is  admittedly  in  debt  to  the  Indians 
for  large  sums,  arrears  of  former  treaties.  This  condition 
keeps  ttiem  from  settling  down  to  work,  for  they  naturally 
think  and  say,  "The  government  owes  me  so  many  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars;  let  it  pay  me  these  arrears,  and  I 
shall  be  rich;  no  need  for  me  to  work."  It  would  be  better 
if  the  government  should  dump  down  before  them  whatever  it 
owes  them;  and  when  that  is  spent,  then  and  not  before,  they 
will  go  to  work. 

PAYMENT   OF  ANNUITIES;     GAMBLING  AND   DRINKING. 

October  is  payment  month;  but  very  often  payment  is  not 
made  till  January  or  later,  entailing  great  loss  on  the  Indians. 
They  are  afraid  to  go  off  hunting  or  even  logging,  lest  pay- 
ment should  be  made  in  their  absence;  and  so  they  lose  much 
more  than  the  amount  of  the  payment  by  waiting  for  it.  As 
the  time  approaches,  their  anxiety  for  it  is  extreme;  almost 
as  far  off  as  one  can  see  them,  the  first  question  is,  "When  is 
payment  going  to  be?"  When  it  is  made  in  January  they 
must  come  about  thirty  miles  to  Leech  Lake,  from  Cass  lake 
and  Winnibigoshish,  over  the  frozen,  wind-swept  lakes;  and 
they  must  camp  about  Leech  Lake  village  in  a  temperature 
of  perhaps  thirty  degrees  below  zero,  with  very  little  fire- 
wood, for  near  the  village  it  has  all  been  cut  off;  and  they 
usually  bring  only  the  one  blanket  with  them.  We  would 
not  spend  the  long  time,  and  endure  the  sufferings,  for  the 
amount,  perhaps  ^Ye  dollars  a  head,  which  they  get  Had 
they  let  the  payment  go,  and  gone  hunting  or  working  in  a 
logging  camp,  they  would  have  earned  many  times  that 
amount.  At  payment  they  are  all  dressed  up;  it  is  a  great 
frolic.  All  the  sleigh  bells,  feathers,  paint,  and  blankets,  that 
can  be  mustered,  are  then  put  on.  There  are  great  dances 
every  evening  for  joy  of  the  payment  The  young  fellows 
spend  hours  in  painting  their  faces.    Yet  they  are  quiet  and 


122  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

orderly  in  their  enjoyment  It  seems  to  be  a  great  pleasure 
to  them  merely  to  see  each  other  and  the  crowds.  There  are 
more  Indians  assembled  at  that  time  than  at  any  other. 

There  are  always  many  houses  rented  as  gambling  houses 
at  payment  time,  and  one  can  make  a  tour  of  them,  and  find 
them  all  literally  packed  full  of  participants  or  spectators. 
There  are  always  many  professional  Indian  gamblers,  who  go 
to  every  payment,  walking  perhaps  a  hundred  miles  to  the 
place.  One  meets  companies  of  these  a  few  days  before  pay- 
ment begins.  A  large  amount  of  the  annuities  paid  is  imme- 
diately gambled  away,  and  a  large  amount  of  it  goes  for 
whisky.  The  gambling  is  all  open  and  above  board,  in  sight 
of  everybody;  and  nobody  seems  to  think  there  is  anything 
wrong  in  it,  except  the  Christians.  Spectators  go  from  one 
gambling  house  to  another,  and  the  fortunes  of  those  who 
win  or  lose  are  of  deep  interest  to  them. 

The  traders  all  lay  in  large  stocks  of  goods  then,  and  hire 
many  extra  clerks.  All  day  long  the  stores  are  packed  full 
of  people,  and  a  great  part  of  ihe  night  Some  are  buying, 
some  looking  at  the  crowds;  but  all  are  enjoying  themselves 
in  a  quiet  way.  The  girls  are  dressed  in  their  best;  the  young 
men  have  flutes  of  their  own  making,  on  which  they  play  love- 
songs  to  them.  Outside  of  the  store,  there  is  darting  about 
here  and  there,  and  good-natured  revelry.  From  a  distance 
the  drum  sounds,  showing  that  the  dance  is  in  progress,  and 
the  groups  visit  all  in  turn,  the  dance,  the  stores,  the  gam- 
bling places.  It  is  the  time  of  the  great  annual  frolic  of  the 
OjibwTay,  and  every  one  feels  happy. 

The  trader  stands  near  the  paying  place,  with  his  book  in 
his  hand  showing  the  amount  each  man  owes.  As  the  man 
comes  out  with  his  payment,  he  looks  wistfully  at  him,  as  any 
of  us  would;  perhaps  he  asks  the  debtor  for  the  money,  per- 
haps not.  The  Indian  will  not  be  forced  into  paying;  so  some 
traders  think  it  just  as  well  to  say  nothing  to  them,  to  leave 
it  to  themselves.  If  they  pay,  they  get  a  further  credit;  but  if 
not,  credit  stops.  There  is  no  taking  money  from  any  one  by 
force;  nor  is  the  creditor  allowed  in  the  paying  place. 

When  the  payment  was  made  at  Mille  Lacs  this  year,  it 
was  in  May;  and  the  weather  being  fine,  the  Indians  were  all 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  123 

camped.  They  danced  every  evening  before  the  payment,  for 
joy  that  it  was  to  be.  As  soon  as  the  money  began  to  be  paid, 
blankets  were  spread  upon  the  ground  in  scores  of  places, 
right  close  to  the  paying-booth,  and  almost  the  entire  popu- 
lation seemed  at  once  to  be  engaged  in  gambling.  Some  had 
cards,  some  used  the  bullet  and  moccasin  game.  Even  those 
who  seemed  to  be  almost  dying  were  flourishing  the  cards. 
It  seemed  more  universal  there  than  elsewhere,  because  there 
is  no  mission  at  Mille  Laos.  Within  the  next  two  days,  four 
(as  I  remember)  died  of  drinking  pain-killer  or  something  of 
that  sort,  and  two  became  totally  blind  from  lemon  extract 
that  had  wood  alcohol  in  it;  notwithstanding  the  labors  of  the 
missionary  with  each  one  individually,  many  days  beforehand, 
warning  and  entreating  them  not  to  touch  liquor  in  any 
form  and  not  to  gamble.  But  white  men  are  just  as  liable  to 
these  evils,  for  some  of  them  on  the  frontier  die  of  lemon  ex- 
tract, and  some  become  blind. 

Old  Indians  often  lament  the  degeneracy  of  the  present 
days;  for  when  they  were  young,  they  say,  only  middle-aged 
or  old  men  were  allowed  to  drink  liquor,  and  it  was  done  in 
an  orderly  way,  as  the  drinkers  would  be  ranged  in  rows,  and 
some  young  men  were  there  to  keep  order,  and  if  amy  of  the 
drinkers  became  obstreperous,  one  of  the  young  attendant 
would  silence  him,  saying,  "Now,  you  keep,  still."  But  in 
these  degenerate  days,  they  say,  everybody,  even  little  chil- 
dren, are  allowed  to  drink. 

At  an  Indian  payment  also  is  the  time  when  young  men 
show  off  on  horseback  before  the  people,  and  jerk  and  pull, 
and  cruelly  abuse  their  horses,  to  make  them  rear  and  plunge, 
and  so  to  gain  a  little  cheap  admiration. 

GATHERING  WILD  RICE;    INDOLENCE  OP  THE  MEN. 

Wild  rice  gathering  time,  which  comes  in  September,  is  an 
interesting  occasion.  There  is  a  very  large  wild  rice  lake  in 
the  north  part  of  the  White  Earth  reservation;  suppose  that 
we  visit  it.  We  would  find  there  six  or  seven  hundred  peo- 
ple, half-breeds  and  Indians,  living  in  temporary  wigwams  or 
tents,  who  have  come  to  gather  wild  rice.    They  have  brought 


124  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

their  families  with  them.  When  the  sun  arises,  hundreds  of 
smokes  go  up  from  as  many  fires  made  outside  their  wigwams, 
where  the  women  are  cooking  breakfast  Soon  the  breakfast 
is  spread  on  the  ground,  and  they  reclining  around  it;  and  a 
delicious  breakfast  it  is,  nice  light  biscuit,  ducks  deliciously 
cooked,  with  wild  rice  and  tea.  Not  many  hotels  could  fur- 
nish such  a  meal,  and  none  such  a  dining-room.  After  break- 
fast the  women  get  into  the  canoes  and  launch  out  to  beat  off 
and  gather  the  rice;  but  out  of  all  the  hundreds  there,  only  a 
very  few  men,  Christians,  perhaps  five  or  six,  go  with  them. 
There  has  been  a  failure  of  crops;  they  have  nothing  at  home, 
and  only  the  wild  rice  they  may  gather  now  to  depend  on  t!o 
carry  them  through  the  winter.  The  wild  rice  is  such  an 
abundant  crop  that  a  Norwegian  man  (the  only  white  man 
working  there,  he  being  employed  for  wages),  says  that  a  man 
can  make  seven  dollars  a  day,  at  the  market  price  for  rice,  by 
gathering  it  Here  then  is  a  God-send,  and  something  that 
calls  for  a  great  effort.  But  the  fascination  of  the  game  is 
so  great  that,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  few,  all  the  men 
spend  the  day  lying  on  the  ground  gambling.  So  the  golden 
opportunity  is  missed.  In  a  month  they  will  have  nothing  at 
home;  while  by  exerting  themselves  for  a  very  few  days  in 
the  rice-field  they  might  have  had  plenty  all  the  year.  One 
family  brings  away  twenty-one  large  sacks  of  rice;  all  might 
have  done  so,  had  the  men  cared  to  help.  But  some  even  com- 
plained that  they  were  hungry,  because,  though  tine  ducks 
were  flying  about  thick  and  they  might  have  shot  all  they 
wanted,  they  could  not  bear  to  tear  themselves  away  from  the 
game  long  enough  to  do  so.  Such  is  Indian  life,  and  the 
mixed-bloods  generally  are  just  the  same;  but  some  of  the 
mixed-bloods  are  just  as  nice  as  any  white  people  in  all  re- 
spects, and  in  nothing  inferior  to  them. 

Within  the  last  three  years  large  numbers  of  mixed-bloods 
on  the  White  Earth  reservation  have  rented  their  farms  to 
Germans  from  the  Sauk  valley,  while  they  have  moved  into 
White  Earth  village  and  built  themselves  little  shanties, 
where  they  will  live  on  the  rents.  This  movement  seems  to 
be  spreading,  and  all  are  anxious  to  rent  who  can. 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  125 

RATIONS   FROM   THE   GOVERNMENT. 

The  Indians  and  mixed-bloods  who  within  the  last  seven 
years  have  removed  to  the  White  Earth  reservation  have  been 
fed  by  the  government  with  food  of  all  kinds,  pork,  flour,  tea, 
sugar,  etc.,  some  of  them  being  so  fed  during  a  period  of  five 
years,  and  some  during  a  less  time.  The  Chippewa  Commis- 
sioners, who  had  that  matter  in  charge,  paid  the  chief  of 
those  who  had  immigrated  to  exhort  the  others  to  raise  a 
crop.  They  thought  his  influence  and  exhortation  would  be 
worth  the  money  spent  He  took  the  salary,  but,  realizing 
that  if  the  Indians  raised  an  abundance  the  rations  would  be 
cut  off,  he  exhorted  them  all,  instead,  and  charged  them,  not 
to  plant  a  single  thing,  concluding  that  if  they  raised  nothing 
and  had  nothing  they  would  continue  to  be  fed,  but  otherwise 
not.  So  sometimes  in  the  same  village  where  the  chief  lived, 
prolonged  councils  were  held,  and  the  people  of  the  neighbor- 
ing villages  were  called  in  a  body;  and  the  result  they  aimed 
at  was  to  pass  a  law  that  no  one  should  plant  anything,  for 
the  above  reason.  In  consequence,  they  planted  very  little. 
At  first  sight,  this  conduct  seems  very  strange  to  us;  but 
when  wre  realize  that  these  rations  came  out  of  their  own 
funds,  the  proceeds  of  their  pine  forests,  and  also  that  several 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  of  arrears  were  due  to  them, 
we  see  that  it  was  natural,  from  their  standpoint,  that  they 
should  wish  to  get  out  of  their  own  funds  all  they  could,  and 
that  whatever  they  succeeded  in  getting  was  to  them  so  much 
clear  gain.  For  the  same  reason  they  will  work  all  kinds  of 
games  on  the  government  doctor  to  get  sick  rations;  or  on 
those  in  charge  of  a  school,  to  get  clothing  for  the  children. 
They  know  it  comes  out  of  their  funds,  and  is  their  own, 
though  trickery  and  deception  have  been  used  in  getting  it. 

RATE  OF  MORTALITY;     MIXED-BLOODS  INCREASING. 

The  mortality  among  their  children  when  in  schools  is  ex- 
tremely low,  only  a  small  fraction  of  what  it  is  among  those 
outside.  Good  food,  good  clothing,  regular  hours,  and  the 
weekly  bath,  make  the  difference. 

Consumption  is  now  very  rife  among  the  Indians.  They 
say  that  in  old  times,  when  they  lived  practically  in  the  open 


126  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

air  always,  and  subsisted  on  flesh  almost  exclusively,  con- 
sumption was  almost  unknown  among  them.  Many  reasons 
for  its  prevalence  now  might  be  given,  but  one  undoubtedly 
is  the  spitting  over  everything  by  the  sick,  while  closely 
packed  in  one  small  room.  The  sputa  dry,  rise  as  dust,  are 
inhaled  by  the  others,  and  in  that  way  the  sick  give  this  dread 
disease  to  the  well.  Many  middle-aged  and  old  persons,  who 
do  not  have  consumption,  cough  for  a  great  many  years;  ap- 
parently from  the  irritating  effects  on  the  air-passages  of 
the  lungs  occasioned  by  drawing  such  quantities  of  smoke 
into  them.  Yet  many  such  live  to  a  good  old  age.  The  mor- 
tality in  any  Indian  settlement  is  many  times  that  in  a  white 
community  of  equal  numbers. 

The  pure-blood  Indians  are  slowly  decreasing  in  number; 
the  mixed-bloods  are  rapidly  increasing.  Owing  to  the  great 
preponderance  of  men  on  the  frontier,  many  white  men  mar- 
ry Indian  and  mixed-blood  women.  As  the  latter  also  have 
each  eighty  acres  of  land,  and  if  they  remove  to  White  Earth 
they  and  all  the  children  will  be  raitioned  for  years,  while  the 
man  in  addition  will  get  oxen,  cows,  plows,  wagons,  sleds,  a 
house,  in  right  of  his  wife,  etc.,  these  things  have  their  influ- 
ence. 

DESTRUCTIVENESS  OP  INTEMPERANCE. 

As  is  well  known,  liquor  has  an  attractiveness  for  the  In- 
dians and  does  destructive  work  among  them;  but  white  men 
also  suffer  in  that  way.  Like  all  races  of  wild  men,  the  In- 
dians first  rapidly  and  greedily  learn  the  vices  of  the  superior 
race;  and  only  later,  slowly  and  with  extreme  difficulty,  they 
acquire  their  virtues.  Thus  the  excessive  use  of  liquor,  the 
excessive  use  of  tobacco,  all  such  things,  they  eagerly  seize; 
and  therefore  necessarily,  unless  Christianity  be  ta,ught  to 
counteract  such  things,  unless  there  be  a  Christian  mission  to 
protect  them,  the  contact  with  the  superior  race,  and  with 
what  is  called  civilization,  is  death  to  the  Indian,  death  physi- 
cal and  moral. 

One  illustration  only  I  may  give.  Before  the  town  of 
Grand  Rapids  was  founded,  there  lived  near  its  site  an  unusu- 
ally progressive  band  of  Indians,  called  the  Rabbit  band  from 
a  patriarch  of  that  name.    They  numbered  perhaps  sixty  to 


THE  OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.  127 

eighty.  They  had  houses,  stoves,  good  gardens  and  fields,  and 
a  great  deal  of  stock,  horses  and  cattle.  They  made  much 
hay  and  sold  it  to  the  lumbermen,  and,  for  heathen  Indians, 
made  great  progress  and  were  very  comfortable.  There  came 
a  white  man  from  down  the  river  and  planted  a  saloon  about 
two  miles  from  them.  He  was  the  first  settler  in  Grand  Rap- 
ids, I  think.  In  about  two  years  half  of  that  Rabbit  band  were 
dead,  and  the  survivors  were  wretched  shivering  vagabonds, 
while  the  white  man  had  all  their  former  wealth.  Some  were 
frozen  to  death  when  drunk;  some  were  drowned  by  the  up- 
setting of  their  canoes,  when  they  were  drunk;  some  lay  down 
in  the  snow  and  took  pneumonia;  some  were  burned  to  death. 
The  saloon-keeper  had  all  their  cattle,  horses,  stoves,  and 
household  goods;  and  those  who  remained  alive  had  only  an 
old  blanket  each. 

When  the  white  men  reached  Leech  lake,  the  town  they 
reared  on  its  banks  had  one  drug  store,  one  hardware  store, 
two  dry  goods  and  provision  stores,  and  seven  saloons,  one 
of  which  was  capacious  enough  to  contain  whisky  sufficient 
to  poison  all  the  1,100  Indians  of  Leech  lake.  It  was  on  a 
high  bluff  overlooking  their  lake,  accessible  from  every  part 
of  it  by  their  canoes.  It  was  a  deadly  trap  set  for  the  simple 
natives,  right  in  their  midst,  by  their  strong  white  brother. 
The  civilization  of  the  white  man,  without  the  Gospel,  is 
death  to  the  simple  Indian. 

THE  OJIBWAY  LANGUAGE. 

The  children  who  have  been  brought  up  in  the  schools 
speak  English;  but  those  who  have  not  been  so  taught,  find 
our  language  excessively  difficult  and  never  learn  it.  Taking 
the  people  generally,  Ojibway  is  almost  exclusively  their  lan- 
guage; but  among  the  mixed-bloods  French  also  is  very  ex- 
tensively used. 

The  Ojibway  language  is  a  most  beautiful,  copious,  and 
expressive  one.  It  is  most  euphonious;  there  is  not  a  harsh 
or  guttural  sound  in  it.  All  its  sounds  are  perfectly  familiar 
to  us,  but  many  of  those  in  our  language  the  Ojibways  cannot 
utter  at  all.  Strange  to  say,  their  language  is  very  highly  in- 
flected. The  Ojibway  verb,  for  instance,  is  much  more  highly 
inflected  than  the  Greek  verb;  it  has  whole  conjugations  of 


128  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

which  we  in  our  English  language  know  nothing.  Nearly  all 
parts  of  speech  are  turned  into  verbs  and  conjugated.  Any 
idea  which  is  expressed  in  our  language  can  be  perfectly  well 
expressed  in  theirs.  Being  so  highly  inflected,  and  with  many 
particles  variously  dovetailed  in,  it  is,  though  so  beautiful, 
and  really  a  work  of  art,  a  most  difficult  language  to  acquire. 
A  learned  ecclesiastic,  who  told  me  he  spoke  nine  languages, 
including  a  little  of  this,  told  me  he  would  rather  learn  the 
other  eight  than  the  single  Ojibway.  The  greatest  authority 
on  Indian  languages  in  our  country  some  time  ago  made  the 
statement  that  any  verb  in  the  Algonquin  tongue  is  habitually 
used  in  a  million  different  forms.  The  wonder  is  how  such  a 
rude  people  ever  constructed  or  ever  handed  down  such  a 
highly  inflected  language.  To  one  who  studies  it,  it  is  as 
great  a  surprise,  to  use  the  words  of  another,  "as  it  would  be 
to  come  on  a  beautifully  sculptured  Corinthian  temple  out  on 
one  of  our  prairies." 

In  this  paper  I  have  left  out  altogether  everything  about 
the  mission  to  the  O  jib  ways,  the  ten  congregations,  and  the 
eleven  Indian  clergy;  though  the  history  of  Christianity  among 
these  people  would  be  the  more  interesting  narrative  of  the 
two. 


CIVILIZATION  AND  CHRISTTANIZATION  OF  THE 
OJIBWAYS  IN  MINNESOTA.* 


By  The  Right  Reverend  Henry  B.  Whipple,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 
Bishop  oe  Minnesota. 


Gentlemen  of  the  Historical  Society:  It  is  a  great  pleasure 
to  tell  you  the  story  of  our  missions  to  the  Ojibways,  whom 
I  have  learned  to  love  as  the  brown  children  of  our  Heavenly 
Father.  The  North  American  Indian  is  the  noblest  type  of 
a  wild  man  in  the  world.  He  recognizes  a  Great  Spirit;  has 
an  unwavering  faith  in  a  future  life,  a  passionate  love  for 
his  children,  and  will  lay  down  his  life  unflinchingly  for  his 
people.  I  have  never  known  an  Indian  to  tell  me  a  lie, — a 
characteristic  of  the  Indian  character  to  which  the  officers 
of  the  United  States  Army  will  bear  testimony. 

The  Ojibways  belong  to  the  Algonquin  division  of  the 
aboriginal  American  people,  which  included  all  the  Indians 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  forests  of  Minnesota,  north  of  the 
Oherokees,  except  the  Six  Nations  of  New  York.  Their  lan- 
guage is  both  beautiful  and  interesting,  and  exhibits  the  nicest 
shades  of  meaning.  The  verbs  have  more  inflections  than  in 
the  Greek  language.  Perhaps  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  are 
the  crux  to  test  a  language,  but  in  that  respect  the  richness 
of  the  Ojibway  tongue  cannot  be  exceeded.  Polygamy  has 
existed  with  them  to  a  much  less  degree  than  among  other 
Indians. 

At  the  time  of  my  consecration,  Bishop  Kemper,  honored 
by  all  men,  said  to  me,  "Dear  brother,  do  not  forget  the  poor 
Indians  who  are  committed  to  your  care  and  whom  you  may 
gather  into  the  fold  of  Christ."  Three  weeks  after  coming 
to  Minnesota,  in  1860,  I  visited  the  Indian  country.  The 
Indians  had  fallen  to  a  depth  of  degradation  unknown  to 
their  heathen  fathers.    Our  Indian  affairs  were  at  their  worst. 


*An  address  given  before  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  May  2,  1898. 


130  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

The  Indians  were  regarded  by  politicians  as  a  key  to  unlock 
the  public  treasury,  and  even  Christian  folk  said,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Cain,  "Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?"  Much  as  I  had 
heard  of  their  sorrow  and  wretchedness,  I  was  appalled  by 
the  revelation  of  my  first  visit.  As  we  entered  the  forest, 
we  found  a  dead  Indian  by  the  wayside,  who  had  been  killed 
in  a  drunken  fight  A  few  miles  farther  on  we  came  to  a 
wigwam  where  the  mother  was  stripping  the  outer  bark  from 
a  pine  tree  that  she  might  give  the  pitch  to  her  children  to 
satisfy  the  gnawings  of  hunger.  Almost  at  every  step  we 
were  met  by  some  sign  of  the  existing  degradation. 

At  Gull  lake,  James  Lloyd  Breck,  of  blessed  memory,  had 
gathered  a  little  band  of  Christian,  Indians.  He  had  left  them 
to  establish  another  mission  at  Leech  lake.  The  Indians 
while  maddened  with  drink  had  driven  him  and  his  family 
from  the  country.  They  afterward  told  me  that  white  men 
had  assured  them  that  their  grand  medicine  was  as  good  as 
any  religion,  and  that  if  they  did  not  want  the  missionary 
they  might  drive  him  away.  I  held  services  in  the  log  church, 
and  I  remember  how  deeply  my  heart  was  touched  by  the 
devotion  of  a  few  Christian  Indians  as  I  heard  for  the  first 
time  the  services  of  the  Church  in  their  musical  language. 

That  same  night  the  deadly  fire-water  made  a  pande- 
monium, and  I  could  only  say,  "How  long,  O  Lord?"  But;  I 
then  settled  the  question  that,  whatever  success  or  failure 
might  attend  my  efforts,  I  would  never  turn  my  back  upon 
the  heathen  at  any  door.  Friends  within  and  without  my 
diocese  advised  me  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  Indian  mis- 
sions, saying  that  a  young  bishop  could  not  afford  to  make 
a  failure  in  his  work.  I  carried  it  where  I  have  learned  to 
carry  all  troubles,  and  I  promised  my  Saviour  that,  God  help- 
ing me,  I  would  never  cease  my  efforts  for  this  wronged  race. 
The  Bev.  E.  S.  Peake  was  a  missionary  residing  at  Crow 
Wing,  and  the  Bev.  John  Johnson  Enmegahbowh,  ordained 
a  deacon  by  Bishop  Kemper,  was  living  at  Gull  lake.  I  spent 
the  following  summer  visiting  all  the  scattered  bands  of  the 
Ojibways,  and  holding  services.  After  one  of  them,  a  chief 
asked  me  if  the  Jesus  of  whom  I  spoke  was  the  same  Jesus 
that  my  white  brother  talked  to  when  he  was  angry  or  drunk. 
The  head  chief  of  Sandy  lake  said  to  me:    "You  have  spoken 


CHRISTIANIZATION  OF  THE  O  JIB  WAYS.  *  131 

strong  words  against  fire-water  and  impurity;  but,  my  friend, 
you  have  made  a  mistake.  These  are  words  you  should  carry 
to  your  white  brothers  who  bring  us  the  fire-water  and  cor- 
rupt our  daughters.    They  are  the  sinners,  not  we." 

But  there  were  gleams  of  light.  An  Indian  woman,  the 
queen  of  the  Pokegamas,  followed  me  thirty  miles  to  attend 
a  service.  She  said  to  me:  "Your  missionary  baptized  my 
daughter.  The  Great  Spirit  called  her  home.  I  have  heard 
a  whisper  in  my  heart,  'You  must  be  a  Christian  and  follow 
your  child  to  the  Great  Spirit's  home.' "  At  another  place 
I  buried  the  child  of  a  woman  who  brought  me  a  lock  of  hair, 
saying:  "Kechemuckadaiconai,  the  Great  Spirit  has  called 
my  child.  I  have  heard  that  when  white  mothers  lose  their 
babies  they  sometimes  have  their  hair  made  into  a  cross  to 
remind  them  of  the  baby  who  has  gone,  and  of  Jesus  who 
called  it.  Will  you  have  my  baby's  hair  made  into  a  cross ■?" 
The  following  year,  this  woman  walked  forty  miles  to  give 
me  a  large  mokuk  of  dried  berries.  She  said  nothing,  but 
pointed  to  the  little  cross  which  I  had  made  for  her.  They 
were  simple  things,  but  they  told  me  that  the  hearts  of  an 
Indian  mother  and  a  white  mother  are  alike. 

I  will  mention  an  incident  of  our  Sioux  mission.  Some 
of  my  hearers  will  remember  the  noted  Sioux  orator,  Bed 
Owl.  He  never  attended  a  church  service.  One  day  he  came 
into  the  school-room.  There  hung  on  the  wall  the  picture 
of  the  Ecce  Homo, — that  sweet,  sad  face,  of  the  Saviour.  He 
asked,  "Who  is  that?  Why  are  His  hands  bound?  Why 
are  those  thorns  on  His  head,  and  blood  on  His  brow?'* 
Again  and  again  he  came  to  the  school-room  and  sat  before 
the  picture,  asking  questions  about  the  "Son  of  the  Great 
Spirit,"  until  he  had  learned  the  story.  One  day  as  I  was 
driving  over  the  prairie,  I  saw  a  wood  cross  over  a  newly 
made  grave,  and  when  I  asked  what  it  meant,  Wabasha  told; 
me  that  Red  Owl  was  dead;  that  he  had  suddenly  been  taken; 
ill,  and  that  when  he  was  dying  he  called  his  young  men 
around  him  and  said,  "The  story  of  the  Great  Spirit  is  true. 
I  have  it  in  my  heart.  When  1  am  dead  put  a  cross,  like  that 
on  the  mission  house,  over  my  grave,  that  the  Indians  may 
see  what  was  in  Red  Owl's  heart." 

For  three  years  we  labored  faithfully,  but  the  clouds  were 
often  black  and  there  was  much  to  perplex  in  the  example 


132  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

of  a  Christian  nation.  On  one  occasion  the  Sioux  had  killed 
one  of  our  Ojibways  near  Gull  river.  On  my  next  visit  to 
the  Sioux  country  I  said  to  tlheir  head  chief,  "Wabasha,  your 
people  have  murdered  one  of  my  Ojibways,  and  yesterday 
you  had  a  scalp  dance  in  front  of  our  mission.  The  wife  and 
children  of  the  murdered  man  are  asking  for  him.  The  Great 
Spirit  is  angry."  Wabasha  drew  his  pipe  from  his  mouth, 
and,  slowly  blowing  a  cloud  of  smoke  into  the  air,  said: 
"White  men  go  to  war  with  their  own  brothers,  and  kill  more 
men  than  Wabasha  can  count  all  the  days  of  his  life.  Great 
Spirit  looks  down  and  says,  'Good  white  man;  he  has  my 
book;  I  love  him,  and  will  give  him  good  place  when  he  dies/ 
Indian  has  no  Great  Spirit  book.  He  wild  man.  Kill  one 
man;  has  scalp  dance.  Great  Spirit  very  angry.  Wabasha 
don't  believe  it!" 

In  1862,  I  visited  the  Sioux  Mission  on  the  upper  Minne- 
sota river.  There  were  forerunning  signs  of  the  coming  of 
that  awful  massacre.  These  Indians  had  sold  to  the  United 
States  government  eight  hundred  thousand  acres  of  their 
reservation,  for  which  they  had  never  received  a  penny,  ex- 
cept a  few  worthless  goods  sent  to  the  Upper  Sioux.  They 
had  been  told  by  the  traders  that  all  had  been  paid  out  for 
claims,  and  that  a  large  part  of  their  annuities  had  also  been 
thus  used.  It  was  true.  Of  the  money  which  came  too  late, 
twenty-live  thousand  dollars  had  been  taken  from  other  trust 
funds  to  pay  these  annuities. 

I  visited  the  Ojibways,  on  my  return,  at  Crow  Wing,  and 
while  I  wras  there  a  letter  came  to  Hole-in-the-Day,  in  care 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Peake,  marked  "In  haste."  Hole-in-the-Day 
was  at  Leech  lake.  I  sent  for  his  head  warrior,  who  opened 
the  letter.  It  was  from  Little  Crow,  and  said:  "Your  men 
killed  one  of  our  farmer  Indians.  I  tried  to  keep  my  men 
back.  They  have  gone  for  scalps.  Look  out!"  On  my  way 
to  Eed  lake,  I  found  the  Indians  turbulent,  and  felt  that  an 
impending  cloud  hung  over  our  border.  When  it  broke  the 
only  light  which  fell  upon  the  scenes  of  bloodshed  was  that 
which  came  from  the  loyalty  of  those  Christian  Indians  who 
rescued  so  many  women  and  children  from  death.  Enme- 
gahbowh,  who  had  been  made  a  prisoner,  escaped  and  trav- 
elled thirty  miles  in  the  night  to  warn  Fort  Ripley  of  its 
danger.    He  sent  Chief  Bad  Boy  to  the  Mille  Lacs  Indians 


CHRISTIAN1ZATION  OF  THE  OJIBWAYS.  133 

to  call  them  to  the  defense  of  the  fort;  and  before  Hole-in- 
the-Day  could  begin  war,  the  northern  border  was  protected. 
I  can  never  forget  the  love  and  bravery  of  those  Christian 
Indians  who  proved  their  fidelity  at  the  risk  of  their  lives. 

Both  of  our  missions,  to  the  Sioux  and  to  the  Ojibways, 
were  destroyed,  and  during  those  dark  days  it  seemed  as  if 
the  ground  was  drifting  from  under  my  feet.  We  began 
work  again,  and  in  1867  we  secured  a  valuable  reservation 
for  the  Ojibways  at  White  Earth.  My  heart  was  full  of  hope, 
but  when  I  visited  the  Ojibways,  they  said  that  this  was  the 
first  march  towards  the  setting  sun;  that  all  Indians  who 
had  left  their  own  homes  had  perished,  and  that  their  shad- 
ows rested  upon  their  graves.  Nabonaskong,  the  most  fear- 
less warrior  I  have  ever  known,  said:  "The  Bishop  has  a 
straight  tongue.  He  says  we  shall  be  saved  if  we  go  to 
White  Earth.  We  know  it  is  a  beautiful  country.  My  chil- 
dren are  looking  in  a  grave.  You  know  me.  I  will  kill  any 
man  who  tries  to  hinder  me  from  going  to  that  newT  home." 
Other  Indians  followed  his  example,  and  a  little  company 
removed  to  White  Earth,  with  Enmegahbowh  as  their  clergy- 
man. 

Some  months  afterward,  Nabonaskong  went  to  Enme- 
gahbowh and  said:  "That  story  about  Jesus  is  true.  I 
know  it.  The  trail  brought  by  the  Christian  white  man  is 
good.  But  I  have  been  a  warrior.  My  hands  are  covered 
with  blood.  Can  I  be  a  Christian?"  Enmegahbowh  made 
the  crucial  test  by  asking  if  he  might  cut  his  hair.  The 
Indian  wears  his  scalp-lock  for  his  enemy;  and  when  his 
hair  is  cut,  it  is  a  sign  he  will  no  longer  go  on  the  war  path. 
I  have  had  a  man  tremble  under  the  shears  as  he  would  not 
if  a  pistol  were  put  at  his  head.  jSrabonaskong's  hair  was 
cut,  and  he  started  for  home.  He  met  some  wild  Indians 
on  the  way,  who  shouted  with  laughter  and  said,  "Yesterday 
you  were  our  leader.  To-day  you  are  a  squaw!"  It  stung 
the  man  to  madness.  He  rushed  to  his  wigwam,  and,  throw- 
ing himself  on  the  ground,  cried,  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life.  His  Christian  wife  knelt  by  his  side  and  said,  "Na~ 
bonaskong,  no  man  can  call  you  a  coward.  Can  you  not  be 
as  brave  for  Him  who  died  for  you  as  you  were  to  kill  the 
Sioux?"     Springing  to  his  feet,  he  cried,  "I  can  and  I  will!" 


134  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

He  was  true  to  Ms  vow;  his  influence  over  other  Indians 
was  great,  and  in  his  last  illness  he  sent  for  his  people  and 
urged  them  to  throw  aside  their  wild  life  and  become  Chris- 
tians. 

One  of  those  whom  he  led  to  Christ  was  Shadayence,  the 
head  grand  medicine  man  of  the  nation.  In  the  early  days 
I  used  to  call  this  man  my  Alexander  Coppersmith,  for  he 
was  the  most  cunning  opponent  of  Christianity.  The  only 
Christian  Indian  in  a  certain  village  died,  and  left  messages 
for  his  friends  to  follow  him  to  the  Great  Spirit's  home.  It 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  his  people,  and  a  few  days 
afterward  the  medicine  men  left  the  village,  and  were  not 
heard  from  for  weeks.  When  they  returned  their  faces  were 
blackened  and  they  were  in  rags,  the  sign  of  mourning.  The 
Indians  gathered  around  them  and  asked  what  it  meant. 
After  much  persuasion  they  told  their  story,  saying  that  they 
had  found  the  Indian  who  had  just  died,  in  great  trouble. 
The  Great  Spirit  had  permitted  them  to  see  the  other  world, 
and  they  had  found  their  friend  wandering  alone.  He  told 
them  that  when  he  died  he  went  up  to  the  white  man's  heaven, 
and  the  angel  who  guarded  the  gate  asked  him  who  he  was. 
He  said  that  he  was  a  Christian  Ojibway.  The  angel  shut 
the  gate,  saying,  "This  is  a  white  man's  heaven.  There  are 
Happy  Hunting  Grounds  for  the  Ojibways,  in  the  west" 
He  then  went  to  the  Happy  Hunting  Grounds ;  but  when  he 
asked  for  admission,  the  angel  asked  who  he  was,  and  upon 
hearing  that  he  was  a  Christian  Ojibway  answered:  "The 
Ojibways  are  medicine  men.  If  you  are  a  Christian  you  must 
go  to  the  other  heaven."  He  was  shut  out  of  both,  and  must 
wander  alone  forever. 

In  the  early  days  of  my  Indian  missions,  I  took  a  load  of 
Indian  children  to  Faribault.  At  Little  Falls,  a  number  of 
frontier  men,  who  loooked  upon  me  as  a  tenderfoot,  gathered 
about  the  wagon  and  said,  "I  wonder  if  the  Bishop  expects  to 
make  Christians  out  of  them.  It  can't  be  done  any  more  than 
you  can  tame  a  weasel."  After  the  Sioux  outbreak,  the  Ojib- 
ways were  afraid  to  trust  their  children  in  Faribault,  which 
they  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  Sioux  country,  and  they  were 
taken  away.  One  day  I  met  a  lumberman  at  Brainerd,  who 
said  to  me,  "Bishop,  I  don't  take  any  stock  in  your  Indian 


CHRISTIANIZATION  OF  THE  O  JIB  WATS.  135 

missions."  I  replied,  "I  do  not  think  you  take  stock  in  any 
missions."  He  smiled  and  responded,  "That's  so;  but  I  know 
an  Indian  in  my  camp  who  is  a  Christian  sure!  He  is  the 
only  man  who  don't  swear  or  drink  whisky.  His  only  fault 
is  that  he  won't  work  Sundays."  I  visited  the  camp,  and 
found  the  son  of  Shadayence.  I  educated  him,  and  ordained 
him;  and  when  his  father  saw  him  for  the  first  time  in  a 
surplice,  preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ,  he  was  deeply  moved 
and  became  himself  a  Christian. 

Another  of  these  Indian  boys  was  employed  as  a  chain- 
man  by  a  United  States  surveyor.  A  few  days  after  he  began 
his  work,  he  asked  permission  to  return  to  his  home,  saying, 
"Your  young  men  swear.  There  are  no  oaths  in  the  Indian 
language.  I  am  afraid  that  I  may  learn  to  use  these  words." 
The  surveyor  called  his  employees  together  and  told  them 
the  story,  which  so  touched  them  that  it  ended  profanity  in 
the  camp.  This  boy,  Fred  Smith,  I  also  educated  and  or- 
dained, and  he  is  now  in  charge  of  the  beautiful  church  at 
White  Earth,  of  which  Enmegahbowh  is  the  rector  emeritus. 
Still  another  of  those  boys  has  been  ordained,  and  has  made 
full  proof  of  his  ministry. 

There  are  to-day  ten  Ojibway  churches  in  the  state  of 
Minnesota,  and  seven  Ojibway  clergymen,  besides  several 
eatechists  and  lay  readers.  I  once  asked  a  border  man  about 
one  of  my  Indian  clergymen,  and  he  replied,  "Bishop,  he 
doesn't  let  the  grass  grow  under  his  feet,  and  he  doesn't  wake 
up  anybody's  sleeping  dogs." 

I  have  often  been  asked  if  all  Indians  who  were  baptized, 
remained  true  to  their  profession;  and  I  have  answered,  "Did 
you  ever  know  of  a  white  man,  with  fifteen  hundred  years 
of  civilization  back  of  him,  to  fail  as  a  model  of  Christian 
character?"  But  I  do  say  that  there  are  no  memories  in  my 
heart  dearer  than  those  of  many  of  the  brown  children  whom 
we  have  been  permitted  to  lead  out  of  heathen  darkness. 

I  have  not  spoken  of  the  Christian  labors  of  other  religious 
bodies.  I  have  made  it  a  rule  of  my  life  never  to  interfere 
with  other  Christian  work.  One  of  the  noblest  specimens 
of  the  Indian,  Mahdwagononint  (a  brief  sketch  of  whose  life 
I  recently  published),  came  to  me  in  1865,  and  asked  me  for 
a  missionary.    The  Congregationalists  had  sent  a  missionary 


136  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

to  Red  lake,  but  Mahdwagononint  said  to  me,  "I  want  your 
kind.  You  have  been  my  friend  and  have  helped  save  my 
people."  After  repeated  appeals,  I  wrote  to  the  secretary 
of  the  American  Missionary  Association,  aiid  asked  permis- 
sion to  send  an  Indian  clergyman  to  Red  lake,  saying  that 
their  mission  had  not  been  a  success,  and  that,  although  in 
my  diocese,  I  was  unwilling  to  present  a  divided  Christianity 
to  heathen  folk.  I  received  a  courteous  letter  from  the  sec- 
retary, in  which  he  said,  "I  believe,  for  the  interest  of  the 
Indians,  that  it  is  best  to  leave  this  field  in  your  care,  and 
we  will  withdraw  our  missionary."  I  consulted  with  Arch- 
deacon Gilfillan  as  to  a  name  for  the  new  mission,  and,  re- 
membering that  the  Rook  of  Revelation  speaks  of  "my  servant 
Antipas  where  Satan  dwelleth,"  we  decided  that  it  should 
be  called  St  Antipas.  God  has  blessed  us.  Mahdwagononint 
became  one  of  the  noblest  Christians  T  have  known,  and  his 
village  is  the  only  village  in  Minnesota  where  all  are  Chris- 
tians. 

We  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  our  deaconess,  Miss  Sybil 
Carter,  who,  with  all  the  energy  and  devotion  of  her  honored 
great-grandfather,  Samuel  Adams  of  Revolutionary  fame,  has 
made  a  grand  success  of  the  six  lace  schools  which  she  has 
established  among  the  Indians,  four  of  which  are  in  Minne- 
sota. This  lace  compares  favorably  with  the  best  imported 
laces,  and  received  high  commendation  at  the  World's  Fair 
in  Chicago.  There  have  been  many  instances  where  the  In- 
dians would  have  suffered  from  hunger,  by  the  loss  of  their 
crops,  had  it  not  been  for  this  industry.  The  lace-making  has 
a  refining  influence  upon  these  people.  An  Indian  woman 
said  to  me,  "Me  wash  hands  to  keep  thread  clean;  me  wash 
apron  to  keep  lace  clean;  clean  dress  to  keep  apron  clean; 
clean  floor  to  keep  dress  clean;  lace  make  everything  clean, 
me  like  it." 

The  story  of  our  labors  for  the  Indians  would  not  be  com- 
plete if  I  did  not  speak  of  the  conflicts  which  I  have  had,  to 
secure  justice  for  them,  and  to  reform  our  Indian  system. 
At  the  time  when  General  Sibley  appointed  Christian  Indians 
as  his  scouts,  I  asked  him  what  he  would  do  with  their  wives 
and  children.  Tears  came  into  his  eyes  as  he  said,  "I  shall 
have  to  send  them  with  the  others,  to  the  Missouri."    I  said 


CHRISTIANIZATION  OF  THE  O  JIB  WAYS.  137 

that  I  should  take  them  to  Faribault,  which  I  did.  Alexander 
Faribault,  with  his  usual  generosity,  allowed  them  to  camp 
on  his  land,  and  I  was  enabled,  by  the  gifts  of  friends,  to  aid 
in  their  support  At  that  time  there  was  a  sea  captain  living 
at  Faribault.  He  one  day  overheard  a  party  of  bordermen 
say  with  an  oath,  "Bishop  Whipple  has  taken  a  lot  of  those 
savages  down  to  Faribault.  Let's  go  down  and  clean  him 
out"  "Do  you  know  Bishop  Whipple?"  said  the  captain. 
"I  do,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  will  happen  if  you  try  to  clean 
him  out.  He  will  come  out  and  talk  to  you  for  five  minutes, 
and  you  will  wonder  how  you  ever  made  such  cussed  fools  of 
yourselves."  The  leading  papers  of  the  State,  however  much 
they  differed  from  me,  always  published  my  appeals  for  the 
Indians;  but  there  were  papers  that  denounced  me  as  the 
patron  and  friend  of  savages,  and  in  one  I  saw  an  article, 
headed  in  large  type,  "Awful  Sacrilege!  Holiest  Rites  of  the 
Church  administered  to  red-handed  Murderers!"  I  am  glad 
to  say  that  the  author  became  one  of  my  firm  friends,  after 
he  had  received  his  sight. 

In  1864,  the  legislature  of  Minnesota  demanded  that  the 
Ojibways  should  be  removed  from  their  reservations.  The 
Department  selected  a  tract  of  land  north  of  Leech  lake,  and 
sent  out  a  special  commissioner  to  make  the  treaty.  He  came 
to  see  me,  and  asked  for  my  help  in  making  the  treaty.  I 
told  him  that  the  Indians  were  not  fools,  and  that,  as  the 
country  which  had  been  selected  was  the  poorest  in  Minne- 
sota, only  valuable  for  its  pine  land,  I  knew  that  not  an  Indian 
would  sign  the  treaty.  He  answered,  "If  you  will  not  help 
me,  I  will  show  that  I  can  make  it  without  help."  He  called 
the  Indians  together,  and  said,  "My  friends,  your  Great  Father 
has  heard  how  you  have  been  wronged.  He  looked  in  the 
North,  the  East,  and  the  West,  to  find  an  honest  man;  and 
when  he  saw  me,  he  said,  'Here  is  an  honest  man;  I  will  send 
him  to  my  red  children.'  Now,  my  friends,  look  at  me.  The 
winds  of  fifty-five  winters  have  blown  over  my  head,  and  have 
silvered  it  over  with  gray,  and  in  all  that  time  I  have  done 
no  wrong  to  a  single  person.  As  your  friend,  I  advise  you 
to  sign  this  treaty  at  once."  Old  Shabaskong,  a  Mille  Lacs 
chief,  sprang  to  his  feet,  and,  with  a  wave  of  the  hand,  said: 
"Look  at  me.    The  winds  of  fifty-five  winters  have  blown  over 


138  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

my  head  and  have  silvered  it  over  with  gray,  but— they  have 
not  blown  my  brains  away!  I  have  done."  That  council  was 
ended. 

In  those  dark  days,  I  visited  Washington  three  or  four 
times  each  year,  to  plead  for  these  Indians,  There  were  times 
when  they  were  in  danger  of  starvation.  At  one  time  I  re^- 
ceived  a  message  that  there  were  not  provisions  enough  at 
one  of  the  reservations  to  last  three  weeks.  I  borrowed  five 
hundred  dollars  from  J.  E.  Thompson,  and  purchased  flour 
for  them.  Mr.  Thompson  often  loaned  me  money  for  my  In- 
dian missions,  for  in  those  days  their  support  rested  upon 
myself.  He  always  refused  to  take  interest,  saying,  "I  do  not 
think,  Bishop,  that  our  Heavenly  Father  ought  to  pay  interest 
for  money  used  in  His  work." 

The  first  light  that  I  had  was  when  General  Grant  was 
elected  President.  He  loved  the  Indians,  and  political  pres- 
sure never  made  him  turn  from  what  he  believed  to  be  for 
their  interest.  Officers  of  the  United  States  Army  have  al- 
ways been  my  friends.  General  Sherman  once  said,  "The  In- 
dian problem  can  be  solved  by  one  sentence  of  an  old  book, 
'Do  unto  others  as  you  would  have  them  do  unto  you.7  " 

One  of  the  most  exciting  conflicts  that  I  had  with  the 
Indians  was  at  Leech  lake.  I  was  on  a  visitation  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State,  when  I  received  a  telegram  from 
George  Bonga,  "The  Indians  at  Leech  lake  have  killed  the 
Government  cattle  and  taken  the  Government  goods,  and  I 
fear  an  outbreak."  I  repeated  the  telegram  to  General  Grant, 
adding  that  Bonga  was  reliable.  The  answer  came,  "Go  into 
the  Indian  country  and  settle  this,  and  we  will  ratify  your 
act."  It  was  a  terrible  journey,  with  the  thermometer  below 
zero,  and  the  roads  blocked  by  snowdrifts.  Captain  McOas- 
key,  a  noble  soldier,  accompanied  me.  When  we  reachd  Leech 
lake,  the  Indians  met  me  in  council.  Flat  Mouth  arose  and 
said:  "I  suppose  you  came  to  ask  who  killed  the  Government 
cattle,  and  who  took  the  Government  goods.  My  young  men 
did  it  by  my  authority.  Do  you  want  to  know  why?  Our 
pine  land  has  been  sold  without  our  consent.  We  have  been 
robbed.  We  shall  suffer  no  more.  Our  shadows  rest  on  our 
graves."  He  spoke  for  a  half  hour,  with  bitter  sarcasm  and 
denunciation  of  the  United  States  government.    I  knew  my 


CHRISTIANIZATION  OF  THE  OJIBWAYS.  139 

only  hope  of  controlling  the  Indians  lay  in  silencing  Flat 
Mouth.  As  he  sat  down,  I  arose  and  said  quietly,  "Flat  Mouth, 
how  long  have  you  known  me?"  "Twelve  years,"  was  the 
answer.  "Have  I  ever  told  you  a  lie?"  "No,"  came  the  reply, 
"you  have  not  a  forked  tongue."  "I  shall  not  lie  to  you  to- 
day," I  continued.  "I  am  not  a  servant  of  the  Great  Father; 
I  am  a  servant  of  the  Great  Spirit.  I  cannot  tell  you  what 
the  Great  Father  will  do;  but  if  he  does  what  he  ought  to  do, 
if  it  takes  ten  thousand  men  he  will  arrest  every  Indian  who 
has  committed  crime."  As  I  expected,  he  was  very  angry, 
and  sprang  to  his  feet  with  flashing  eyes  and  bitter  words. 
When  he  stopped  to  take  breath,  for  I  had  folded  my  arms 
and  sat  down,  I  asked  quietly,  "Flat  Mouth,  are  you  talking 
or  am  I  talking?  If  you  are  talking,  I  will  wait  till  you 
finish.  If  I  am  talking,  I  prefer  you  to  wait."  All  the  In- 
dians shouted,  "Ho!  ho!  ho!"  Flat  Mouth,  by  interrupting 
me,  had  broken  their  most  sacred  law  of  politeness,  and  the 
chief  sat  down  overwhelmed  with  confusion,  and  I  was  left 
master  of  the  situation.  I  told  them  that  when  I  heard  of 
the  sale  of  the  land,  I  informed  the  purchaser,  who  was  my 
friend,  that  I  should  break  up  the  sale.  I  wrote  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  that  I  would  carry  it  through  all  the  courts  if 
necessary.  I  consulted  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States. 
"But,"  I  said,  "when  I  ask  good  men  to  help  me,  and  they 
ask  if  the  Indians  for  whom  I  plead  are  the  ones  who  stole 
the  Government  goods,  killed  the  Government  cattle,  and 
threatened  to  murder  white  men,  what  shall  I  say?  You  are 
not  fools.  You  know  that  you  have  gagged  my  tongue  and 
fettered  my  hands.  Talk  this  over  among  yourselves,  and 
when  you  have  made  up  your  minds  what  to  do  send  for  me." 
I  left  the  council,  and  the  next  morning  Flat  Mouth  and  his 
fellow  chiefs  came  to  me,  and  said,  "We  have  been  foolish. 
Tell  us  what  to  do,  and  we  will  follow  your  advice." 

I  will  here  mention  that  the  responsibility  for  this  sale 
did  not  belong  either  to  the  agent,  the  Eev.  Mr.  Smith,  or  to 
the  purchaser.  I  know  better,  perhaps,  than  any  of  my  fellow 
citizens,  the  history  of  that  unfortunate  transaction,  and  I 
know  that  these  men  were  innocent.  It  would  weary  you  to 
tell,  ever  so  briefly,  of  those  fierce  conflicts.  I  should  have 
failed  if  God  had  not  given  me  strength  beyond  my  own  weak 
will. 


140  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

The  history  of  our  dealings  with  the  Indians  is  a  sad  one. 
We  may  begin  far  back  to  where  our  Pilgrim  fathers  marched 
around  a  church,  with  the  head  of  King  Philip  on  a  pole,  to 
the  music  of  a  fife  and  drum,  and  then  in  solemn  conclave 
decided  that  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  the  sins  of  the  fathers 
should  be  visited  upon  the  children,  and  therefore  sold  Philip's 
son  as  a  slave  to  Bermuda. 

Follow  on  to  the  time  when  Worcester,  that  noble  Pres- 
byterian missionary  to  the  Cherokees,  was  tried,  and  sen- 
tenced to  prison,  for  teaching  the  Cherokees  to  read.  The 
case  was  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
by  Mr.  Evarts,  the  father  of  William  M.  Evarts,  Chief  Justice 
Marshall  decided  that  the  law  was  unconstitutional.  But 
the  Supreme  Court  has  no  power  to  execute  its  mandates, 
and  Worcester  remained  in  prison.  Little  did  the  people 
of  Georgia  think  that  the  day  would  come  when  a  host  of 
men,  under  the  flag  of  that  outraged  Constitution,  would 
descend  from  the  top  of  Missionary  Bidge,  the  home  of  that 
martyred  servant  of  God,  and  lay  waste  all  of  that  land  which 
had  been  taken  from  the  Cherokees. 

You  may  still  follow  on  to  where  a  Moravian  church  was 
burned  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  the  men,  women,  and  children 
of  a  Christian  Indian  village  were  put  to  death.  And  so  on 
to  that  fearful  Cheyenne  massacre,  under  Colonel  Chivington, 
of  which  a  commission  (General  Sherman  was  the  president, 
and  our  honored  fellow  citizen,  General  Sanborn,  was  a  mem- 
ber) said  that  the  scenes  which  took  place  would  have  dis- 
graced the  most  savage  tribe  of  the  interior  of  Africa, 

We  have  spent  more  money  in  Indian  wars  than  all  the 
Christian  churches  of  America  have  expended  for  missions; 
and  in  these  wars  (of  which  officers  of  the  army,  such  as  Sher- 
man, Grant,  Miles,  and  Crooks,  have  told  me  that  they  never 
knew  an  instance  where  the  Indians  were  the  first  to  violate 
a  treaty),  ten  white  men  have  been  killed  to  one  Indian. 

Much  of  the  wrong  heaped  upon  the  Indians  was  the  direct 
fruit  of  a  bad  system.  The  men  entrusted  with  the  elevation 
of  a  heathen  race  were  appointed  agents  as  a  reward  for 
political  service.  The  hands  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  were  tied  by  Congress.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
had  the  care  of  eight  bureaus,  and  the  government  felt  tha/t 
it  had  fulfilled  its  duty  to  its  Indian  wards  when  it  estab- 


CHRISTIANIZATION  OF  THE  OJIBWAYS.  141 

lished  almshouses  to  graduate  savage  paupers.  The  deadly 
fire-water,  and  the  evil  example  of  bad  white  men,  completed 
the  work  of  degradation. 

Many  of  our  presidents,  whom  I  have  known  personally, 
have  felt  keenly  the  wrongs  of  the  Indians.  At  my  first  visit 
to  President  Lincoln,  after  the  Sioux  massacre,  there  were 
tears  in  his  eyes  as  I  told  him  of  our  desolated  border,  and 
he  said  with  impassioned  voice,  "When  this  civil  war  is  over, 
if  I  live,  this  Indan  system  of  iniquity  shall  be  reformed." 
Secretary  Stanton  said  to  a  friend  of  mine:  "What  does 
Bishop  Whipple  want?  If  he  came  to  tell  us  of  the  iniquity 
of  our  Indian  system,  tell  him  we  know  it.  But  this  govern- 
ment never  reforms  an  evil  until  the  people  demand  it  When 
the  Bishop  has  reached  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  the  Indians  will  be  saved."  Presidents  Arthur  and 
Hayes  gave  me  their  entire  sympathy. 

In  the  first  administration  of  President  Cleveland,  I  called 
upon  my  friend,  Chief  Justice  Waite,  and  said,  "Will  you  tell 
me  what  you  think  of  President  Cleveland?"  He  answered, 
"I  believe  that  he  wants  to  know  the  truth;  and  when  he 
knows  it,  no  one  can  swerve  him  from  his  course."  He  took 
me  to  the  President  and  introduced  me.  I  told  him  that  the 
Government  had  built  dams  on  our  Indian  reservation,  which 
had  overflowed  ninety-one  thousand  acres  of  pine  land,  de- 
stroyed their  rice  fields,  and  injured  their  fisheries;  and  that 
they  had  plead  in  vain  for  redress.  Mr.  Cleveland  responded, 
""It  is  a  great  wrong.  I  will  send  for  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior."  He  said  to  him,  "I  have  asked  Bishop  Whipple  to 
address  you  a  letter  giving  the  facts  concerning  these  dams. 
When  Congress  meets  send  the  letter  promptly  to  me."  He 
sent  a  special  message  to  Congress  with  my  letter,  and  the 
appropriation  was  made. 

In  correspondence  with  President  McKinley,  before  his 
inauguration,  I  was  deeply  impressed  by  his  Christian  char- 
acter. Secretary  Bliss  feels  keenly  the  government's  respon- 
sibility for  its  Indian  wards.  There  is  much  yet  to  be  done, 
but  the  difference  at  the  end  of  thirty-eight  years  is  as  between 
darkness  and  daylight. 

The  following  facts  speak  volumes.  Of  the  two  hundred 
:,and  fifty  thousand  Indians  in  the  United  States,  besides  those 


142  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

in  Alaska,  eighty-eight  thousand  wear  the  civilized  dress; 
twenty-five  thousand  live  in  houses;  twenty-five  thousand 
are  communicants  of  Christian  churches;  twenty-two  thou- 
sand are  pupils  in  schools;  thirty-eight  thousand  can  read. 
The  past  year  there  were  one  hundred  and  seventy  more 
births  than  deaths  among  the  Ojibways  in  Minnesota.  The 
records  of  the  Interior  Department  show  that  in  the  past 
year  fourteen  Indians  were  killed  by  other  Indians,  and  forty- 
four  Indians  were  killed  by  whites.  The  Indians  last  year 
sold  to  the  United  States  government,  and  to  others,  more 
than  a  million  bushels  of  wheat  and  corn. 

Yes,  thank  God,  the  atmosphere  is  clearing.  The  senti- 
ment of  justice  is  beginning  to  vibrate  in  the  hearts  of  men 
everywhere.  I  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  Christian  peo- 
ple of  America  and  of  Great  Britain  for  their  sympathy  and 
help.  The  Quakers  of  Philadelphia  sent  me  two  thousand 
dollars,  with  which  the  first  cattle  for  the  White  Earth  res- 
ervation were  purchased.  My  friend,  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  in 
writing  me  some  years  ago  concerning  our  Indian  wrars,  said, 
"That  the  government  has  treated  the  poor  Indians  with  great 
injustice  I  have  little  doubt,  for  it  is  the  habit  of  the  white 
man  so  to  treat  all  his  half-civilized  brethren  all  over  the 
world."  But  the  time  has  come  when  the  cry  that  "there  is 
no  good  Indian  save  a  dead  Indian'7  rings  hollow,  and  he 
who  utters  it  is  no  longer  on  the  popular  side..  It  may  not 
be  out  of  place  in  this  jubilee  year  of  that  gracious  Queen 
whom  all  Christian  nations  revere  and  honor  for  her  noble 
Christian  reign,  to  say  that  in  that  heart  I  have  found  a  sym- 
pathy for  my  work  for  my  brown  children  that  could  not  be 
exceeded  by  the  loving  loyalty  of  my  own  countrymen. 

For  myself  I  have  received  an  hundredfold  for  all  my 
labors;  and  when  I  have  finished  my  work,  I  would  rather 
have  one  of  these  men,  of  the  trembling  eye  and  wandering 
foot,  drop  a  tear  over  my  grave  and  say,  "He  helped  us  when 
he  could,"  than  to  have  the  finest  monument. 


.rjj*     "4§ 

-C&^^^miMffli 

'I^^HB 

W;™ 

"'^W^W| 

'":  ^':."*"  '*' f  *'^fl|i| 

cJf^s^by. 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  II. 


BIOGRAPHIC  NOTES  OF  OLD  SETTLERS.* 


BY  HON.  HENRY  L.  MOSS. 


Mr.  President  and  fellow  members  of  the  Old  Settlers'  As- 
sociation: It  gives  me  pleasure  to  greet  you  once  more,  on 
the  annual  recurrence  of  the  day  when  Minnesota  became 
known  to  the  world  as  an  organized  government,  under  the 
laws  of  the  Federal  Union. 

The  chairman  of  your  Executive  Committee,  from  the  day 
that  he  assumed  to  exercise  executive  authority  over  the  new 
Territory  of  Minnesota  forty-eight  years  ago,  has  at  all  times 
been  active  in  keeping  alive  the  memories  of  the  days  of  our 
beginning,  and  the  developments  of  the  new  territory  and  fu- 
ture state.  He  has  requested  me  to  present  on  this  anniver- 
sary of  our  association  a  review  of  the  events  which  preceded 
the  organization  of  the  territory,  and  of  the  men  who  were 
active  in  perfecting  it. 

While  there  has  been  much  written  and  published  concern- 
ing the  early  days  of  our  history  as  a  state  and  territory,  and 
the  men  who  were  active  and  participated  in  its  organization, 
a  further  record  thereof  might  seem  unnecessary  and  cumula- 
tive; yet  it  will  never  be  considered,  I  think,  out  of  place  for 
the  "Old  Settlers"  of  Minnesota,  on  the  occasion  of  their  annual 
gathering,  to  have  their  memories  revived  and  refreshed  of 
those  who  were  once  our  associates  and  confpanions  in  the  ad- 
ventures of  our  early  history  and  the  struggles  of  a  pioneer 
life,  some  of  whom  still  remain  with  us,  while  the  greater  num- 
ber are  enrolled  among  the  departed. 

What  then  can  be  more  appropriate,  on  this  occasion  of 
our  annual  meeting,  than  to  mingle  in  memory  with  those  who 


*A  paper  read  before  the  Old  Settlers'  Association  of  Minnesota,  at  its 
annual  meeting-,  June  1,  1897;  also  read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Council  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  December  13,  1897. 


144  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

were  the  charter  members  of  our  organization?  and  also  with 
the  members  of  the  Territorial  Legislature,  who  first  exercised 
authority  to  enact  laws  to  govern  Minnesota?  It  is  especially 
suitable  thus  to  celebrate  this  semi-centennial  of  1847,  as  our 
existence  had  its  foundation  in  the  events  of  that  year. 

I  therefore  assume  this  A.  D.  1897  as  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of  the  "Old  Settlers;"  for  several  among  our  number  were 
prominent  and  active  in  1847  in  the  incipient  movements  of 
laying  the  foundations  of  the  future  Minnesota.  The  events  of 
that  year  are  so  intimately  associated  with  the  culminating 
period  of  1849,  the  year  of  our  Territorial  birth,  and  with  the 
men  who  became  the  charter  members  of  the  Old  Settlers'  As- 
sociation, that  the  purposes  of  this  paper  would  be  incomplete, 
did  it  not  refer  to  those  who  were  prominent  in  1847.  Think 
of  the  contrast  between  then  and  now!  The  developments 
and  changes  of  fifty  years! 

In  1847,  the  location  of  St  Paul  was  unsold  government 
land,  a  rough  broken  country,  comprising  tamarack  swamp, 
sand  hills,  rocky  ravines,  and  quagmires  and  sloughs  that  were 
the  abode  of  muskrats  and  other  aquatic  animals.  A  portion 
of  about  ninety  acres  was  that  part  of  the  present  city  area 
lying  between  Seventh  street  and  the  Mississippi  river  and 
extending  from  the  "Seven  Corners"  to  Sibley  street.  This 
tract  was  occupied  by  squatters  who  had  a  law  unto  them- 
selves, which  recognized  the  rights  and  claims  of  the  settlers 
to  be  as  sacred  and  effective  as  under  a  patent  from  the  United 
States  government. 

HENRY  JACKSON. 

Of  the  persons  prominent  in  those  days  I  will  first  mention 
Henry  Jackson.  He  was  born  in  Abington,  Virginia,  Febru- 
ary 1st,  1811.  He  arrived  in  St.  Paul  on  the  night  of  June 
9th,  1842,  with  his  wife,  and  found  shelter  in  a  cabin  occupied 
by  one  Abraham  Perry.  Within  a  few  days  he  rented  a  small 
cabin  of  Pierre  Parrant,  who  had  been  the  founder  and  pro- 
prietor of  that  more  ancient  settlement  known  as  "Pig's  Eye," 
of  which  Saint  Paul  was  the  western  suburb.  Jackson's  rented 
cabin  was  on  the  levee  near  the  foot  of  the  present  Jackson 
street,  where  he  remained  till  he  built  a  log  cabin  for  himself 


BIOGRAPHIC  NOTES  OP  OLD  SETTLERS.  145 

on  the  point  of  tlie  bluff  in  the  rear  of  the  present  St.  Paul 
Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  building.  In  the  new  cabin  he 
opened  a  stock  of  goods  suitable  for  the  Indian  trade  and  also 
"kept  tavern." 

Henry  Jackson  was  a  remarkable  man,  shrewd,  active,  jolly, 
and  ever  equal  to  any  emergency.  He  was,  in  his  day,  legis- 
lator, postmaster,  justice  of  the  peace,  merchant,  and  hotel 
keeper.  On  April  7th,  1846,  the  postoffice  of  St.  Paul  was  esta- 
blished, and  on  the  same  day  Mr.  Jackson  was  appointed  post- 
master. 

Only  three  postoffices  had  been  previously  established 
within  the  limits  of  the  present  state  of  Minnesota.  The  office 
at  Fort  Snelling  was  established  January  22nd,  1834,  and  the 
first  postmaster  was  Samuel  0.  Stambaugh.  The  business  done 
at  this  office  was  limited  chiefly  to  the  military  post  and  the 
Indian  agency.    The  second  postoffice,  established  July  8th, 

1840,  was  known  as  Lake  St.  Oroix,  and  was  discontinued  De- 
cember 11th  of  the  same  year,  the  receipts  having  amounted 
to  only  |23.53.    It  was,  however,  reestablished  December  23rd, 

1841,  and  is  now  known  as  Point  Douglas,  in  Washington 
county.  The  third  office  was  established  January  14th,  1846, 
at  Stillwater,  and  Elam  Greeley  was  appointed  the  postmaster. 
Its  first  year's  receipts  amounted  to  f  101.93.  For  the  year 
1896  its  receipts  were  $14,054.70. 

The  next  or  fourth  postoffice  was  established  at  St.  Paul, 
April  7th,  1846,  as  before  stated.  The  receipts  for  the  year 
1846  amounted  to  $14.70;  and  the  receipts  from  the  same  office 
for  the  year  1896  amounted  to  $433,706.99.  These  figures  illus- 
trate the  growth  of  this  city  in  the  past  fifty  years. 

I  first  became  acquainted  with  Henry  Jackson  in  1847,  when 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  Wisconsin  Territory. 
The  district  represented  by  him  was  composed  of  the  counties 
of  Crawford,  Chippewa,  St.  Croix,  and  La  Pointe,  which  to- 
gether embraced  the  entire  country  northwest  of  the  Wiscon- 
sin river,  extending  to  lake  Superior  and  the  British  posses- 
sions. In  both  the  territorial  legislature  and  the  convention 
to  form  the  constitution  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  Mr.  Jack- 
son took  an  active  part  for  securing  the  St.  Croix  lake  and 
river  as  the  western  boundary  of  the  proposed  state  of  Wis- 
consin. Thereby  he  foresaw  that  a  new  Territory  would  be 
10 


146  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

assured.  From  Mm  I  liad  my  first  information  of  the  proba- 
bility of  the  new  proposed  Territory  of  Minnesota.  Upon  its 
organization  he  was  one  of  the  representatives  from  St.  Paul 
in  the  first  session  of  the  Territorial  legislature. 

Mr.  Jackson  removed  with  his  family  from  St.  Paul  to  Man- 
kato  in  April,  1853,  being  among  the  first  settlers  of  that  pros- 
perous city,  where  he  died  July  31st,  1857. 

Did  the  purposes  of  this  article  admit,  I  might  make  it  con- 
sist entirely  of  a  relation  of  incidents  in  the  life  of  this  pioneer 
mercT  ^+  and  magistrate.  I  will,  however,  only  mention  one 
more,  a^  >  "^uce  of  his  tact  and  ingenuity  in  solving  a  di- 
lemma. Sometime  during  the  winter  of  1843-44,  Governor 
Dodge  of  Wisconsin  Territory  appointed  Mr.  Jackson  justice  of 
the  peace.  On  account  of  the  infrequency  of  the  transmission 
of  the  mail  during  the  winter  season,  a  long  time  elapsed,  after 
his  bonds  were  sent  to  the  Governor,  before  his  commission 
was  received.  In  the  meantime  a  young  man  and  woman  ap- 
plied to  Mr.  Jackson  to  be  married.  Jackson  knew  he  had  been 
appointed  justice  of  the  peace;  but  he  had  not  received  his 
commission,  and  requested  them  to  wait  a  few  days.  This 
they  were  unwilling  to  do,  as  they  were  anxious  to  be  married 
without  any  delay.  Mr.  Jackson  at  once  solved  the  difficulty 
by  proposing  to  them  to  give  a  bond,  that  they  would  come 
and  be  legally  married  after  he  had  received  his  commission; 
they  at  once  consented  to  this  arrangement,  and  the  bond  was 
executed  and  delivered,  whereupon  Jackson  told  the  youthful 
couple  to  go  their  way  and  be  happy,  and  when  he  received 
his  commission  they  could  come  again  and  be  legally  married. 

JACOB    W.    BASS. 

It  was  in  August,  1847,  that  Jacob  W.  Bass  came  to  St. 
Paul.  He  was  born  in  Baintree,  Vermont,  in  1815.  Soon  after 
his  arrival  in  St.  Paul,  he  leased  the  building  on  the  corner 
of  Third  and  Jackson  streets,  the  history  of  which  from  that 
date  to  the  present  time  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  St.  Paul, 
namely,  the  Merchants'  Hotel. 

In  August,  1846,  one  Leonard  H.  Laroche  had  built  a  cabin 
of  tamarack  logs  on  a  tract  of  ground  he  had  bought  of  Henry 
Belland  for  $165,  the  description  of  which,  in  his  deed,  would 
in  these  days  be  questioned  by  a  "title  lawyer,"  but  at  that 
time  the  deed  was  sufficient  to  determine  and  secure  the  rights 


BIOGRAPHIC  NOTES  OF  OLD  SETTLERS.  147 

of  the  parties  interested.  The  tract  of  land  was  described  as 
"bounded  on  the  front  and  back  by  Henry  Jackson's  land,  and 
on  the  sides  by  McLeod  and  Desniarais."  This  location  is 
known  to  be  a  part  of  the  land  on  which  the  Merchants'  Hotel 
now  stands.  In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1847,  Simeon  P. 
Folsom  bought  this  property  from  Laroche,  and  made  some 
improvements  on  the  building  and  kept  it  as  a  tavern  till  about 
the  10th  day  of  November  in  the  same  year,  when  he  leased 
the  same  to  Mr.  Bass  for  a  hotel  at  a  rental  of  $10  per  month. 
Additional  improvements  were  made,  so  that  it  became  in 
1848  a  good  two-story  log  building,  to  which  was  given  the 
name  "St.  Paul  House."  It  was  thereafter  conducted  by  Mr. 
Bass  as  a  hotel  till  the  spring  of  1852,  when  he  retired  from 
it,  having  for  two  years  kept  the  postoffice  in  it.  He  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  of  St.  Paul,  July  5th,  1849,  and  held  the 
office  till  March  18th,  1853,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  William 
H.  Forbes. 

From  he  time  when  he  left  the  Merchants'  Hotel,  in  the 
spring  of  1852,  till  his  death,  Mr.  Bass  was  engaged  in  active 
business  in  St.  Paul,  and  became  prominent  in  every  movement 
and  enterprise  that  pertained  to  the  growth  and  improvement 
of  the  city.  He  died  in  the  month  of  May,  1889,  and  his  re- 
mains were  laid  in  final  rest  in  Oakland  cemetery.  Mrs.  Bass, 
his  estimable  wife,  still  survives,  a  joy  and  blessing  to  their 
children,  and,  as  she  always  has  done,  gladdens  the  eyes  and 
hearts  of  her  numerous  friends  with  her  presence. 

WILLIAM  H.  FORBES 

was  born  in  Montreal,  Canada,  November  13th,  1815.  He 
came  to  Mendota  in  the  summer  of  1837,  and  for  ten  years  was 
clerk  for  Gen.  H.  H.  Sibley,  who  at  that  time  had  charge  of  the 
business  of  the  American  Fur  Company  at  that  place. 

In  1847  Mr.  Forbes  came  to  St.  Paul,  and  took  charge  of  the 
business  of  that  company  here  under  the  name  of  "The  St.  Paul 
Outfit;"  and  from  that  time  he  continued  his  residence  here 
till  his  death.  He  was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  original 
surveyed  plat,  now  known  as  "St.  Paul  proper."  Upon  the 
organization  of  the  Territory,  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
from  St.  Paul  as  a  member  of  the  Territorial  Council;  and  he 


148  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

was  subsequently  reelected,  being  a  member  of  four  successive 
councils.  In  1852,  during  the  third  session,  lie  was  elected  by 
bis  associates  president  of  the  council. 

On  March  18th,  1853,  Mr.  Forbes  was  appointed  postmaster 
of  St.  Paul  as  successor  of  J.  W.  Bass.  During  the  same  year 
he  became  associated  with  N.  W.  Kittson  and  engaged  in  the 
Indian  and  fur  trade  of  the  Northwest,  and  for  several  years 
did  a  very  large  business,  which  was  terminated  in  1862  by  the 
Indian  outbreak  of  that  year. 

He  held  prominent  positions  in  the  military  service  of  the 
United  States  during  the  campaign  against  the  Sioux  Indians 
and  the  war  of  the  Kebellion.  He  was  the  provost  marshal 
at  the  military  trial  of  the  three  hundred  Sioux  Indians  who 
were  condemned  to  death.  He  was  also  a  commissary  of  sub- 
sistence in  the  volunteer  service,  appointed  by  President  Lin- 
coln with  rank  of  captain;  in  1864  he  was  chief  commissary 
in  the  District  of  Northern  Missouri;  and  subsequently  he  was 
engaged  as  chief  quartermaster  in  General  Fremont's  depart- 
ment. For  his  valuable  services,  he  was  brevetted  a  major  in 
the  volunteer  service. 

Mr.  Forbes  at  one  time  was  the  auditor  of  Ramsey  county, 
and  held  other  civil  offices  to  which  he  was  well  fitted;  and 
performed  his  duties  in  whatever  position  he  was  placed  with 
ability  and  fidelity,  without  ever  a  word  of  criticism  or  sus- 
picion to  his  discredit. 

He  died  July  20th,  1875,  deeply  lamented  by  numerous 
friends,  and  his  body  was  entombed  in  the  Catholic  cemetery 
of  St.  Paul  in  the  presence  of  many  prominent  citizens. 

JAMES  M.   BOAL, 

was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  came  to  St.  Paul  in  1846. 
He  was  known  by  the  "Old  Settlers"  of  that  day  as  "McBoal," 
doubtless  from  his  true  name  being  James  McClellan  Boal.  A 
prominent  street  in  St.  Paul  is  named  from  him,  McBoal  street. 
He  was  a  conspicuous  character  in  the  early  days  of  the  terri- 
tory, a  good  hearted  and  genial  fellow,  a  friend  to  all  he  knew, 
generous,  being  sometimes  even  liberal  to  a  fault.  He  was 
elected  in  1849  from  St.  Paul  as  a  member  of  the  Territorial 
Council  for  two  years.    He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Ram- 


BIOGRAPHIC  NOTES  OF  OLD  SETTLERS.  149 

sey  as  Adjutant  General  of  the  Territory,  and  held  that  posi- 
tion till  his  successor  was  appointed  in  1853  by  Governor  Gor- 
man. He  died  in  1862,  after  a  long  and  severe  illness,  at  Men- 
dota,  where  his  remains  were  buried. 

DR.  JOHN  J.  DEWEY 

was  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York  and  came  to  St.  Paul 
July  15th,  1847.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  Albany  Medical 
College,  and  upon  his  arrival  in  St.  Paul  immediately  entered 
upoix  his  profession,  being  the  first  regular  practicing  physi- 
cian that  located  here.  Previous  to  that  time  the  settlers  had 
depended  upon  the  surgeons  at  Fort  Snelling,  for  medical  or 
surgical  aid. 

Dr.  Dewey  was  elected  from  St.  Paul  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Kepresentatives  of  the  first  Territorial  Legislature.  In  1848 
he  became  associated  with  Charles  Cavalier  (now  a  resident  of 
Pembina,  North  Dakota)  in  business,  and  they  established  the 
first  drug  store  in  St.  Paul.  He  died  April  1st,  1891,  and  his 
remains  were  buried  in  Oakland  cemetery. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  limit  this  article  only  to  the  lives  of 
those  who  were  in  St.  Paul  in  1847,  but  to  include  some  of  the 
more  prominent  persons  of  those  days  who  were  members  of 
the  first  Territorial  Legislature,  which  commenced  its  session 
September  3rd,  1849,  and  who  were  residents  of  other  parts  of 
the  Territory  in  1847,  whose  names  and  lives  have  become  a 
part  of  our  state  history. 

The  legislature  was  composed  of  the  Council,  having  nine 
members,  and  the  House  of  Representatives,  having  eighteen 
members.  All  the  members  of  the  first  Council  are  dead;  and 
only  four  are  now  living  who  were  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives. 

WILLIAM  R.  MARSHALL 

was  born  October  17th,  1825,  in  Boone  county,  Missouri.  In 
September,  1847,  he  went  to  St.  Anthony  Falls  (now  the  east 
part  of  Minneapolis),  staked  out  a  claim,  and  cut  the  logs  for  a 
cabin.  From  the  want  of  a  team  to  haul  the  logs  he  was 
obliged  to  defer  the  building  of  his  cabin  till  the  next  year. 
In  the  spring  of  1849  he  became  permanently  located  there, 
and  was  elected  from  that  district  as  a  member  of  the  House 


150  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

in  the  first  Territorial  Legislature.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy  years  January  8th,  1896,  at  Pasadena,  California;  and 
his  remains  now  repose  in  the  beautiful  grounds  of  Oakland 
cemetery.  The  record  of  his  life  in  Minnesota  is  a  part  of  our 
Territorial  and  State  history.  Whatever  may  have  been  his 
position,  as  governor  of  the  state,  as  a  member  of  the  legisla- 
ture, or  as  a  general  in  the  army  of  the  Union,  he  gave  honor  to 
Minnesota,  and  won  the  lasting  gratitude  of  her  people. 

DAVID    OLMSTED 

was  born  in  Vermont,  May  5th,  1822.  He  was  a  trader  with 
the  Winnebago  Indians  in  1844  near  Fort  Atkinson,  Iowa,  and 
in  1848  accompanied  them  on  their  removal  to  Long  Prairie  in 
this  state;  and  at  the  same  time  he  opened  a  trading  house  in 
St.  Paul.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Territorial  Gouncil 
in  1849,  from  the  district  which  included  Long  Prairie,  and 
was  chosen  its  president.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil at  the  second  session  of  the  Legislature  in  1851. 

In  1853  Mr.  Olmsted  made  St.  Paul  his  permanent  residence, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1854  was  elected  the  first  mayor,  under 
the  charter  that  incorporated  the  City  of  St.  Paul.  In  1855  he 
received  the  Democratic  nomination  for  delegate  in  Congress, 
but  was  defeated  by  Hon.  H.  M.  Rice.  For  several  years  his 
health  became  impaired;  and  February  2nd,  1861,  he  died  at 
th.3  home  of  his  parents  in  Franklin  county,  Vermont.  He  was 
popular  and  much  esteemed  in  public  life  during  his  residence 
in  Minnesota;  and  the  county  of  Olmsted,  among  the  most 
flourishing  in  our  state,  will  ever  be  a  monument  to  his  mem- 
ory. 

MORTON  S.  WILKINSON 

was  born  in  Skaneateles,  Onondaga  county,  New  York,  Janu- 
uary  22nd,  1819.  He  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  in 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.;  and  came  to  Stillwater,  May  17th,  1847.  He 
was  not  only  the  first  practicing  attorney  in  Minnesota,  but 
was  the  first  practicing  attorney  in  the  entire  country  north- 
west of  Prairie  du  Chien.  His  life  in  Minnesota  has  become  a 
part  of  its  history.  He  was  prominent  in  the  councils  of  our 
country  in  both  houses  of  our  national  Congress,  and  in  the 
legislatures  of  Minnesota,  In  1849,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
first  Territorial  Legislature.    In  1858,  he  was  one  of  the  com- 


BIOGRAPHIC  NOTES  OF  OLD  SETTLERS.  151 

missioners  to  compile  the  statutes  of  tlie  state  of  Minnesota. 
In  1859,  he  was  elected  United  States  senator;  in  1868,  was 
elected  representative  in  Congress;  and  in  the  years  1874  to 
1877,  was  state  senator  from  Blue  Earth  county.  He  died  at 
Wells,  in  this  state,  February  4th,  1894.  Mr.  Wilkinson  as  a 
lawyer  was  an  earnest  and  forcible  advocate.  During  the  war 
of  the  Eebellion  he  was  in  the  United  States  Senate,  and  won 
a  national  reputation  in  his  eloquent  appeals  to  the  people  to 
maintain  the  unity  and  integrity  of  the  government. 

JEREMIAH  RUSSELL 

was  born  in  Madison  county,  New  York,  February  2nd,  1809. 
He  came  to  Fort  Snelling  in  1837,  and  for  more  than  ten  years 
was  engaged  in  various  capacities  as  clerk  and  manager  of 
business  enterprises;  and  in  1848  he  located  at  Crow  Wing,  to 
take  charge  of  the  trading  establishment  of  Borup  and  Oakes. 
It  was  in  November  of  this  year  that  I  first  made  his  acquaint- 
ance, on  the  occasion  of  the  annual  payment  to  the  Chippewa 
Indians  at  Crow  Wing.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House 
of  the  first  Territorial  Legislature.  In  the  fall  of  1849  he  lo- 
cated at  Sauk  Rapids,  and  started  the  first  farm  in  that  part  of 
the  state  northwest  of  Rum  river.  In  whatever  position  he 
occupied,  he  was  a  courteous  and  genial  man,  and  by  his  integ- 
rity and  Christian  character  he  wjon  the  respect  and  love  of 
those  who  were  fortunate  to  know  him.  He  died  June  13th, 
1885. 

SYLVANUS  TRASK 

was  born  in  Otsego  county,  New  York,  November  16th,  1811. 
He  spent  his  boyhood  and  youthful  days  in  his  native  county, 
and  received  there  an  academic  education  and  devoted  several 
years  to  teaching.  He  came  to  Stillwater  in  1848,  and  was 
elected  from  the  Stillwater  district  in  1849  to  the  House  of  the 
first  Territorial  Legislature.  All  "Old  Settlers"  will  remember 
him  as  a  regular  attendant  of  our  annual  meetings,  and  a 
worthy  representative  from  the  St.  Croix  valley.  He  died  at 
Stillwater  in  April,  1897. 

JOSEPH  W.   FURBER 

was  born  in  Farmington,  New  Hampshire,  in  1813.  His  an- 
cestors were  among  those  sterling  and  rugged  settlers  of  the 
Granite  State  in  the  last  century.     His  father  was  a  soldier 


152  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

of  the  war  of  1812.  In  1840  lie  came  to  the  St  Croix  valley 
and  located  at  St.  Croix  Falls.  In  1844  he  removed  to  Cottage 
Grove,  and  opened  a  farm,  where  he  made  his  future  residence 
till  his  death.  In  1846  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Wiscon- 
sin territorial  legislature.  The  district  he  represented  was 
the  entire  country  north  and  west  of  a  line  from  a  point  on 
lake  Pepin  to  lake  Superior.  As  an  evidence  of  his  energy,  I 
refer  to  the  fact  that  for  his  attendance  in  the  Legislature  at 
Madison  in  the  session  of  1847  he  traveled  on  foot  from  his 
home  in  Cottage  Grove  as  far  as  Prairie  du  Chien. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  first  Territorial  Legislature  of  Min- 
nesota and  was  elected  speaker  of  the  House  at  its  session  in 
September,  1849.  He  was  appointed  marshal  of  the  Territory 
by  President  Fillmore  in  1851.  It  was  at  this  time  that  I  came 
to  know  him  intimately,  because  our  positions  as  officers  of  the 
the  federal  government  brought  us  together  very  frequently. 
I  knew  him  as  a  faithful  officer,  of  strong  intellect,  persistence 
in  his  convictions,  and  a  pure  character.  He  died  at  his  family 
residence  in  Cottage  Grove  on  the  10th  day  of  July,  1884. 

JAMES  S.   NORRIS 

was  born  in  Kennebec  county,  Maine,  in  1810.  He  came  to 
the  St.  Croix  valley  in  1839,  and  located  at  St.  Croix  Falls;  and 
subsequently,  like  Mr.  Furber,  started  a  farm  at  Cottage  Grove. 
He  represented  that  district  in  the  first  Legislature  in  1849, 
and  afterward  represented  Washington  county  in  1855  and 
1856.  He  was  elected  speaker  of  the  House  at  the  session  of 
1855,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1857. 

He  was  a  man  of  a  strong  will  and  purpose  in  his  convic- 
tions and  action.  He  was  an  active  partisan  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  our  Territorial  days,  a  real  "wheel  horse"  of  the 
Democratic  chariot.  He  died  at  his  home  in  Cottage  Grove, 
March  5th,  1874. 

LORENZO  A.   BABCOCK 

was  born  in  Sheldon,  Vermont.  He  came  into  the  Territory 
June  25th,  1848,  from  Maquoketa,  Iowa,  and  located  at  Sauk 
Rapids  as  attorney  at  law,  and  was  elected  from  that  district 
to  the  first  Legislature.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Terri- 
tory, he  was  appointed  Attorney  General  by  Governor  Ramsey, 


BIOGKAPHIC  NOTES  OP  OLD  SETTLERS.  153 

which  office  lie  held  till  his  successor  was  appointed  May  15th, 
1853,  by  Governor  Gorman.  He  was  secretary  of  the  Consti- 
tutional Convention  in  1857. 

GIDEON  H.  POND 

was  born  in  Washington,  Connecticut.  He  came  as  a  mission- 
ary among  the  Indians  in  1834,  and  located  at  lake  Calhoun  in 
Hennepin  county.  He  represented  the  district  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  in  the  first  Territorial  Legislature.  His  life  in 
Minnesota  is  a  part  of  its  history  and  of  the  Christian  Church 
with  which  he  was  associated.  His  labors  for  the  welfare  of 
the  Indians  for  whom  he  was  devoting  his  life  were  self-sacri- 
ficing. He  had  a  strong  intellectual  mind,  a  kind  and  tender 
heart. 

In  speaking  of  his  death,  The  Pioneer  of  January  21st, 
1876,  said :  "If  ever  there  was  a  true  man  and  a  faithful  and 
earnest  Christian  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  that  man  was  Gid- 
eon H.  Pond." 

It  gives  me  pleasure,  on  this  occasion  of  the  meeting  of  the 
"Old  Settlers"  to  bear  this  tribute  to  his  memory;  and  I  doubt 
not  that  our  associate,  Governor  Ramsey,  who  knew  him  well, 
will  heartily  unite  with  me  in  this  expression  of  commenda- 
dation  and  remembrance. 

DAVID  B.   LOOMIS 

was  born  in  Willington,  Connecticut,  April  17th,  1817.  He 
came  to  the  St.  Croix  valley  in  1843,  and  for  many  years  re- 
sided at  Marine  Mills  in  Washington  county.  He  was  the 
member  of  the  Council  from  that  district  in  the  first  Territorial 
Legislature  in  1849,  and  also  of  the  second  session  in  1851. 

Mr.  Loomis  had  a  genial  and  generous  nature.  No  one 
knew  him  but  to  respect  him.  No  worthy  appeal  made  to  him 
for  aid  was  turned  away  empty-handed.  He  enlisted  as  a 
soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  and  was  commissioned 
lieutenant  of  Company  F  of  the  Second  Regiment  of  Minne- 
sota Volunteers  in  July,  1861;  and  in  March,  1863,  he  was 
commissioned  captain  of  the  same  company. 

He  died  February  24th,  1897,  at  the  Soldiers'  Home  near 
Fort  Snelling,  having  passed  the  last  few  years  of  his  life  an 
invalid  and  a  worthy  subject  of  that  institution.  His  remains 
have  their  final  resting  place,  where  many  of  his  old  friends 


154  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

and  associates  have  been  laid  before  him,  in  the  beautiful  Fair- 
yiew  cemetery  at  Stillwater. 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  extend  this  notice  to  speak 
particularly  of  other  members  of  the  First  Legislature  who  are 
numbered  among  the  departed,  of  whom  indeed  I  could  speak 
in  words  of  commendation,  and  with  whom  I  was  acquainted. 
I  will  name  them : 

Samuel  Burkleo,  of  Stillwater  and  Marine  Mills; 

John  Rollins,  of  St.  Anthony  Falls; 

William  R.  Sturges,  of  Sauk  Rapids  and  Little  Falls;  and 

Martin  McLeod,  of  Traverse  des  Sioux; 
who  were  members  of  the  Council. 

James  Wells,  of  Lake  Pepin  and  vicinity; 

William  Dugas,  of  Little  Canada,  Ramsey  county; 

Allan  Morrison,  of  Crow  Wing; 

Thomas  A.  Holmes,  of  Long  Prairie;  and 

Alexis  Bailey,  of  Mendota  and  Wabasha; 
who  were  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

I  cannot  omit  to  mention  the  living.  There  are  only  four 
"Old  Settlers"  living  who  were  members  of  the  First  Legisla- 
ture.   Two  of  them  were  residents  of  St.  Paul  in  1847. 

PARSONS  K.  JOHNSON 

still  lives,  an  honor  to  his  name  as  one  of  the  original  legisla- 
tors that  gave  political  life  to  our  state  and  city.  At  an  earlier 
day,  on  Sunday,  July  25th,  1847,  he  made  his  name  memorable 
and  became  historical  by  being  an  assistant  in  organizing  the 
first  Sunday  School  in  St.  Paul.  On  that  occasion  he  was  as- 
sociated with  our  esteemed  "Old  Settler," 

BENJAMIN  W.  BRUNSON 

who  also  is  still  a  living  witness  of  the  sterling  qualities  that 
possessed  the  souls  of  our  worthy  pioneers.  These  two  gallant 
young  men,  with  kindly  feelings  and  worthy  motives,  tendered 
their  services  to  Miss  Harriet  E.  Bishop  (who  a  few  days  pre- 
vious had  arrived  in  St.  Paul)  to  assist  her  in  starting  a  Sun- 
day School,  to  give  religious  instruction  to  the  children  of  this 
embryonic  city.  On  this  occasion,  there  were  seven  children 
gathered  in  a  small  log  cabin  that  Miss  Bishop  had  secured. 


BIOGRAPHIC  NOTES  OF  OLD  SETTLERS.  155 

There  was  a  mixture  of  races  among  these  seven  children;  some 
of  them  could  only  understand  English,  while  others  could 
only  talk  or  understand  French,  and  still  others  were  limited 
to  the  Sioux  language.  As  Miss  Bishop  needed  no  assistance 
in  giving  instruction  in  English,  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  our  two 
friends  to  act  as  interpreters  and  to  give  instruction  and  read 
the  catechism  to  the  French  and  Sioux  children. 

The  name  of  Benjamin  W.  Brunson  is  historic  of  what  St. 
Paul  was  in  1847.  The  records  of  our  county  and  city  bear 
witness  that  he  at  that  time  lived  in  the  wilderness,  but  with- 
out a  change  of  residence  now  lives  in  a  city  of  over  150,000 
inhabitants. 

The  other  two  living  members  are 

HENRY  N.  SETZER, 

who  was  elected  from  the  district  composed  of  Marine  Mills 
and  other  precincts  on  the  St.  Croix  river;  and 

MAHLON  BLACK, 

from  the  Stillwater  district.  Both  came  to  the  St.  Croix  val- 
ley in  1842.  I  have  no  intention  of  writing  an  ante-obituary 
of  their  lives,  and  I  will  leave  it  for  each  of  them  to  tell  their 
own  experiences  as  lawmakers  of  this  commonwealth,  and  as 
defenders  of  the  flag  of  our  country.  They  still  survive  as 
specimens  of  the  men  who  laid  the  foundations  of  our  pros- 
perous State.  May  their  future  days  be  extended  through 
many  years,  joyful  and  happy  with  their  friends,  as  the  past 
fifty  years  have  been  to  each  of  them. 

An  incident  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Setzer  is  worthy  of  special 
notice,  for  which  the  citizens  of  St.  Paul  will  always  hold  him 
in  remembrance,  with  feelings  of  gratitude  on  account  of  his 
unswerving  integrity  and  stability  of  character  as  the  friend 
of  this  city.  I  refer  to  the  closing  scenes  of  the  eighth  and 
last  Territorial  Legislature,  in  which  Mr.  Setzer  was  a  member 
of  the  Council. 

A  bill  for  the  removal  of  the  capital  from  St.  Paul  to  St. 
Peter  had  passed  both  houses  of  the  Legislature,  and  was 
returned  to  the  Council,  where  it  had  originated,  for  enrollment 
and  signature  of  the  president,  On  the  27th  day  of  February, 
1857,  the  original  bill  and  the  enrolled  copy  were  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Joseph  Rolette,  councilor  from  Pembina  county  and 


156  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

chairman  of  the  Enrollment  Committee,  to  compare  them.  On 
the  following  day,  February  28th,  Mr.  Rolette  was  not  in  his 
seat.  The  bill,  being  in  his  possession,  could  not  be  reported. 
Pending  a  resolution  ordering  another  member  of  the  enrolling 
committee  to  procure  another  enrolled  copy  and  report  the 
same,  upon  which  motion  the  previous  question  was  ordered, 
Mr.  Setzer  moved  a  call  of  the  Council,  which  was  ordered,  and 
the  sergeant  at  arms  was  requested  to  report  Mr.  Rolette  in  his 
seat.  On  account  of  the  indisposition  of  John  B.  Brisbin,  the 
president  of  the  Council,  Mr.  Setzer  was  called  to  the  chair, 
which  he  occupied  for  more  than  a  hundred  and  twenty  con- 
secutive hours.  The  Council  under  the  existing  apportionment 
comprised  fourteen  members,  Mr.  Rolette  being  the  only  ab- 
sent .member.  Mr.  Setzer  presided  with  great  self-possession 
and  calm  dignity.  He  refused,  while  the  Council  was  under  a 
call,  to  accept  a  substitute  for  the  original  bill.  It  required 
two-thirds  of  the  members  to  suspend  the  call;  there  were 
nine  votes  in  favor  of  suspending  the  call,  and  four  votes  in 
opposition.  Upon  this  voting,  President  Brisbin  decided  the 
call  not  suspended;  and  Acting  President  Setzer  would  not 
allow  the  Council  to  transact  any  business  pending  the  call. 
While  in  this  condition  the  limit  of  the  time  for  the  session  of 
the  Legislature  expired.  At  the  hour  of  twelve  o'clock  mid- 
night, March  5th,  1857,  the  call  still  pending,  after  a  continu- 
ous session  of  five  days  and  nights,  Mr.  Brisbin,  the  president, 
resumed  the  chair  and  declared  the  Council  adjourned  sine  die. 

It  was  the  decisions  and  rulings  of  Mr.  Setzer,  while  presid- 
ing on  this  occasion,  which  prevented  the  removal  of  the  capi- 
tal of  Minnesota  from  St.  Paul  to  St.  Peter.  Our  fellow  asso- 
ciate, Mr.  John  D.  Ludden,  was  a  member  of  the  Territorial 
Council  at  this  session,  and  I  doubt  not  that  he  will  confirm 
what  I  have  here  said  of  Mr.  Setzer. 

The  members  of  the  First  Territorial  Legislature  were  truly 
representative  men.  Among  the  number  were  farmers,  law- 
yers, merchants,  physicians,  clergymen,  manufacturers,  engi- 
neers, and  men  holding  confidential  and  fiduciary  positions 
with  commercial  and  manufacturing  companies.  Such  were 
the  men  who  on  Monday,  the  3rd  day  of  September,  1849,  met 
together  as  the  first  session  of  the  Minnesota  Legislature  at  the 
capitol,  then  known  as  the  "Central  House/'  a  hotel  located  on 


BIOGRAPHIC  NOTES  OF  OLD  SETTLERS.  157 

the  northeast  corner  of  Minnesota  and  Second  streets  in  this 
city,  being  a  two-story  log  building  covered  with  rough  siding. 
The  business  of  the  hotel,  being  small,  did  not  interfere  with 
legislative  proceedings.  The  Secretary  of  the  Territory  had 
established  his  office  in  the  front  room  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  hall  at  the  main  entrance  of  the  building;  and  he  permit- 
ted the  representatives  to  occupy  it  as  their  "House'7  for  the 
session.  The  members  of  the  Council  went  upstairs  into  a 
small  room  known  as  the  "library,"  which  was  the  "Council 
Chamber." 

Of  this  Legislature  and  its  location,  a  writer  in  the  Pioneer 
of  that  date  wrote:  "Both  houses  met  in  the  dining  hall,  where 
Rev.  E.  D.  Neill  prays  for  us  all,  and  Gov.  Ramsey  delivers  a 
message  full  of  hope  and  farsighted  prophecy  to  comfort  us, 
and  then  leaves  the  poor  devils  sitting  on  rough  board  benches 
and  chairs  after  dinner  to  work  out,  as  best  they  can,  the  old 
problem  of  self-government  through  the  appalling  labyrinths 
of  parliamentary  rules  and  tactics  that  vex  their  souls."  Yet 
no  legislature  which  ever  set  in  Minnesota  was  made  of  better 
stuff  than  that  which  assembled  to  lay  the  corner  stone  of  this 
political  edifice. 

I  should  be  guilty  of  injustice  to  our  pioneer  history,  if  I 
did  not  mention  an  important  element  in  our  development  and 
progress,  namely,  the  educational  factor  in  St.  Paul,  which  had 
its  beginnings  in  1847.    It  was  July  16th,  1847,  when 

MISS  HARRIET  E.   BISHOP 

landed  at  Kaposia,  Little  Crow's  village,  with  the  helping  hand 
of  our  esteemed  and  gallant  associate,  Captain  Russell  Blake- 
ley,  who  was  her  escort  and  assisted  her  to  walk  the  stage 
plank  from  the  deck  of  the  steamer  Argo,  safely  placing  her 
upon  the  soil  of  the  future  Minnesota.  She  was  met  with  the 
cordial  greeting  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Williamson,  located  at  that 
point  as  a  missionary  among  the  Sioux  Indians.  Dr.  William- 
son, foreseeing  the  importance  and  necessity  of  educational 
and  religious  instruction  of  the  people  in  St.  Paul,  had  solicited 
Governor  Slade,  of  Vermont,  to  secure  the  services  of  a  proper 
person  as  teacher;  and  through  the  influence  of  Mrs.  Harriet 
Beecher  Stowe  and  her  sister,  Miss  Catherine  Beecher,  the 
selection  of  Miss  Bishop  was  made,  to  be  located  at  St.  Paul  as 
a  teacher  of  youth. 


158  MINNESOTA  HISTOKICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

She  was  an  ardent  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  pos- 
sessed a  genuine  and  pure  missionary  spirit.  She  published 
a  book  in  1857,  called  "Floral  Home,  or  First  Years  of  Minne- 
sota," in  which  she  relates  the  events  of  her  pioneer  experi- 
ence. It  was  a  severe  mental  struggle  and  a  sacrifice  for  her, 
a  young  and  inexperienced  lady,  to  leave  the  home  of  her  child- 
hood, loving  friends  and  the  comforts  of  civilization,  for  the 
rude  habitation  of  a  distant  unsettled  part  of  the  country,  al- 
most surrounded  by  Indian  tribes.  She  yielded  to  her  sense 
of  the  call  of  duty  and  the  opportunity  of  doing  good. 

After  a  short  stay  with  the  family  of  Dr.  Williamson,  in 
,  the  absence  of  other  mode  of  conveyance,  she  was  taken  into  a 
canoe,  of  the  kind  known  as  a  "dug-out,"  paddled  by  two  stout 
young  Sioux  squaws,  and  landed  in  St.  Paul  on  July  18th,  1847, 
her  future  home.  She  says,  in  her  "Floral  Home,"  of  the  oc- 
casion of  her  landing  in  St.  Paul:  "A  cheerless  prospect 
greeted  this  view.  A  few  log  huts  composed  the  'town' — three 
families  the  American  population.  With  one  of  these,  distant 
from  the  rest,  a  home  was  offered  me.  [It  was  the  dwelling  of 
J.  E.  Irvine  and  family.]  Theirs  was  the  dwelling — the  only 
one  of  respectable  size — containing  three  rooms  and  an  attic." 

Miss  Bishop  immediately  arranged  for  a  school  room.  It 
was  a  vacant  log  cabin,  on  the  northeasterly  corner  of  West 
Third  and  St.  Peter  streets,  which  had  previously  been  oc- 
cupied as  a  dwelling  by  Scott  Campbell.  On  July  25th,  1847, 
she  started  a  Sabbath  school,  with  seven  children,  which  on 
the  third  Sunday  thereafter  was  increased  to  the  number  of 
twenty-five  children.  From  that  date,  fifty  years  ago,  till  the 
present  time,  this  school  has  continued  successfully,  in  growth 
and  influence;  and  it  is  now  known  as  the  Sunday  School  of 
the  First  Baptist  Church  of  this  city. 

During  the  following  winter  of  1847-'48,  Miss  Bishop  started 
the  project  of  having  a  public  building  for  the  purposes  of  her 
school,  to  be  used  also  for  church  purposes,  public  lectures, 
elections  and  other  public  gatherings, — the  size  to  be  25  by  30 
feet.  She  organized,  among  the  ladies,  "The  St.  Paul  Circle 
of  Industry,"  of  which  Mrs.  Bass,  Mrs.  Jackson,  and  Mrs.  Ir- 
vine, were  members,  the  total  number  being  eight  ladies.  This 
was  the  first  "Woman's  Club"  organized  in  this  city.    The 


BIOGRAPHIC  NOTES  OF  OLD  SETTLERS.  159 

money  earned  with  the  needle  by  the  ladies  of  this  society  made 
a  payment  on  the  bill  of  lumber  for  this  public  building,  which 
was  finally  completed  and  occupied  in  August,  1848.  It  stood 
on  the  north  side  of  West  Third  street,  about  100  feet  westerly 
from  St.  Peter  street,  opposite  to  the  site  of  the  building  now 
occupied  by  the  West  Publishing  Company. 

In  1849  three  separate  schools  were  established  in  St.  Paul, 
one  of  which  was  under  the  care  of  Miss  Bishop.  Our  minds 
can  scarcely  comprehend  the  change  and  growth  of  our  public 
schools,  contrasting  the  present  with  the  beginning  fifty  years 
ago.  Miss  Bishop  was  born  in  Vergennes,  Vermont,  January 
1st,  1817;  and  died  in  St  Paul,  August  8th,  1883.  To  the  time 
of  her  death,  she  was  ever  active  and  energetic  in  educational 
and  Christian  work. 

In  commencing  this  review,  it  was  my  intention  to  notice 
briefly  those  of  my  associate  officers,  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  during  the  first  four  years  of  our 
Territorial  existence,  who  are  now  numbered  among  the  de- 
parted; but  I  forbear  with  only  the  mention  of  their  names: 

Charles  K.  Smith,  Secretary  of  the  Territory  from  June  1, 
1849,  to  October  23,  1851. 

Alexander  Wilkin,  Secretary  of  the  Territory  from  October 
23,  1851,  to  May  15,  1853. 

Aaron  Goodrich,  Chief  Justice,  from  June  1,  1849,  to  No- 
vember 13, 1851. 

Jerome  Fuller,  Chief  Justice,  from  November  13,  1851,  to 
December  16, 1852. 

Henry  Z.  Hayner,  Chief  Justice,  from  December  16,  1852, 
to  April  7,  1853. 

David  Cooper,  Associate  Justice,  from  June  1,  1849,  to 
April  7, 1853. 

Bradley  B.  Meeker,  Associate  Justice,  from  June  1,  1849,  to 
April  7, 1853. 

Alexander  M.  Mitchell,  United  States  Marshal,  from  April, 
1849,  to  June,  1851. 

Henry  L.  Tilden,  United  States  Marshal,  from  June,  1851, 
to  the  date  of  his  death,  January  19th,  1852,  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Joseph  W.  Furber,  of  whom  I  have  spoken. 


160  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

OTHER  OLD  SETTLERS  STILL  LIVING. 

I  cannot  conclude  these  reminiscences  of  the  past  without 
a  brief  notice  of  the  living. 

Here  sits  with  us  to-day  our  genial  friend  Simeon  P.  Fol- 
som,  who  came  to  St.  Paul  in  July,  1847.  If  he  was  only  dead, 
I  could  mention  many  good  things  of  him,  and  how  he  gave 
cheer  and  comfort  to  the  pioneer  souls  of  1847  and  1848.  As 
he  still  lives,  there  yet  remains  to  him  the  opportunity  to  add 
to  his  record  a  name  that  future  generations  will  be  proud  to 
emulate. 

It  would  be  unpardonable,  if  I  failed  to  mention  the  name 
of  our  ever  entertaining  associate,  William  P.  Murray,  whose 
ingenuity  to  make  a  good  story  from  nothing  is  unsurpassed 
by  any  "Old  Settler."  He  can  spin  longer  yarns,  and  tell  you 
more  of  those  things  and  matters  of  which  he  has  knowledge, 
as  well  as  of  others  which  he  knows  nothing  about,  than  any 
other  mortal.  It  was  by  "the  skin  of  his  teeth"  that  he  became 
an  "Old  Settler."  If  the  lingering  days  of  December,  1849,  had 
been  made  shorter,  he  would  have  been  left  in  the  snowbanks 
between  the  Black  and  Chippewa  rivers  of  Wisconsin,  when  the 
sunlight  of  January  1st,  1850,  broke  forth.  May  his  life  be 
prolonged  to  give  cheer,  joy,  and  happiness  to  all  "Old  Set- 
tlers" for  many  days  to  come,  as  he  has  done  in  days  gone  by. 

And  there  is  still  with  us  our  ancient  friend  of  the  St.  Oroix 
valley,  John  D.  Ludden,  who  claims  the  year  1845  as  the  date 
of  his  birthright  to  the  name  of  "Old  Settler."  His  life  in  Min- 
nesota is  a  summary  of  good  deeds  and  wise  counsel  in  every 
movement  for  the  development  and  prosperity  of  Minnesota. 
He  gives  to-day  the  same  candid,  cautious,  and  deliberate  con- 
sideration to  every  measure  that  has  for  its  purpose  the  welfare 
of  the  state  and  its  citizens,  as  in  the  days  of  the  Territory, 
when  he  represented  the  interests  of  the  St.  Croix  valley  in 
many  sessions  of  its  Legislature. 

I  regret  that  Captain  Eussell  Blakeley  is  not  with  us  to-day. 
Business  matters  require  his  presence  in  an  eastern  state.  His 
life  for  more  than  fifty  years  has  been  identified  with  projects 
and  enterprises  sufficient  to  make  a  volume  of  pioneer  history. 
Even  now  in  his  age  of  more  than  fourscore  years  he  exhibits 
that  same  foresight  in  the  development  of  future  possibilities 


BIOGRAPHIC  NOTES  OF  OLD  SETTLERS.  161 

of  our  city  as  in  former  years.  For  twenty  years  after  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Territory,  he  was  instrumental  in  bringing 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  the  early  citizens  into  our  state. 
Steamboats,  Concord  coaches,  mud  wagons,  and  other  vehicles, 
were  the  instruments  employed  by  him  for  that  purpose.  As 
long  as  life  is  spared  to  him,  he  can  be  relied  upon  as  a  prudent 
and  sagacious  counsellor  in  every  undertaking  and  measure 
that  will  promote  the  prosperity  of  our  city  and  state. 

There  is  also  with  us  to-day  another  "Old  Settler"  who  never 
fails  to  join  us  in  our  annual  gathering;  I  refer  to  our  genial 
and  efficient  secretary,  August  L.  Larpenteur,  who  has  been  a 
resident  of  St.  Paul  since  September  15th,  1843.  From  that 
date  for  more  than  forty  years  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile 
business  in  this  city.  He  is  the  only  person  now  living  who  as 
merchant  and  trader  did  business  in  St.  Paul  prior  to  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Territory.  He  built  the  first  frame  dwelling 
house  in  St.  Paul,  in  1847,  which  became  known  in  after  years 
as  the  "Wild  Hunter"  saloon  on  Jackson  street. 

From  the  beginning,  Mr.  Larpenteur  was  active  and  promi- 
nent in  settling  and  arranging  the  title  to  the  lots  in  the  origi- 
inal  "Town  of  St.  Paul."  In  1847  St.  Paul  was  unsurveyed 
government  land.  The  original  survey,  by  the  United  States 
government,  of  the  town  lines,  was  made  in  October,  1847;  and 
in  the  following  month  of  November  the  subdivisions  were 
made.  The  original  platting  of  St.  Paul  was  made  during  the 
autumn  of  1847,  by  Messrs.  Ira  B.  Brunson  and  Benjamin  W. 
Brunson,  of  Prairie  du  Chien;  and  the  ownership  of  the  various 
lots  was  amicably  arranged  and  allotted  among  the  claimants. 
At  the  government  sale  of  the  public  lands  at  St.  Croix  Falls 
in  August,  1848,  it  was  mutually  agreed  among  the  claimants 
that  Mr.  H.  H.  Sibley  of  Mendota  should  make  the  purchase; 
and  subsequently  Mr.  Larpenteur  was  selected  as  one  of  the 
three  trustees  to  determine  the  just  claims  and  rights  of  the 
claimants  to  the  various  lots  in  the  town.  Mr.  Larpenteur 
was  ever  faithful  to  the  trusts  imposed  upon  him,  and  was 
endeared  to  the  early  settlers  of  St.  Paul  by  his  generosity  and 
good  fellowship  toward  them.  Under  the  charter  organization 
of  the  "Town  of  St.  Paul,"  in  1849,  Mr.  Larpenteur  was  elected 
one  of  the  trustees,  and  for  several  years  thereafter  he  held 

11 


162  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

official  positions,  either  in  St.  Paul  or  Ramsey  county.  For 
several  years  past  he  has  not  been  engaged  in  any  active  busi- 
ness, and  now  in  his  advanced  age  lives  surrounded  with  the 
comforts  of  a  home,  located  in  the  western  part  of  our  city, 
where  he  has  lived  for  more  than  forty  years  in  the  enjoyment 
of  the  affections  of  a  beloved  wife  and  children. 

What  shall  I  say,  aye,  what  can  I  say  more  than  has  been 
said  for  the  last  forty-eight  years,  of  our  venerable  associate, 
Governor  Alexander  Ramsey,  who  proclaimed  existence  and 
life  in  the  framework  of  Minnesota  under  the  inspiration  and* 
sign  manual  of  President  Zachary  Taylor  and  Secretary  Dan- 
iel Webster  ?  Associates,  look  upon  him  as  he  sits  with  us  to- 
day! Twenty  years  ago  he  made  a  pre-emption  claim  upon 
the  last  banquet  plate  of  the  Old  Settlers'  annual  gathering, 
and  he  stands  ready  to-day  to  make  good  that  claim  against 
any  of  us.    Who  shall  venture  to  contest  it? 

As  for  your  humble  servant,  he  yields  to  none  in  high 
esteem  and  sincere  respect  for  the  "Old  Settlers,"  and  in  hearty 
greetings  to  our  Associates  of  the  St.  Oroix  valley.  He  still 
retains  the  youthful  feelings  of  1848,  when  he  first  trod  upon 
the  soil  of  this  state,  and  to-day  heartily  joins  with  you  all 
in  commemorating  the  nativity  of  Minnesota. 

Thanks  are  due  to  our  esteemed  associate,  George  L. 
Becker,  who  has  this  day  furnished  each  of  us  a  memento  in 
which  are  enrolled  the  names  of  our  charter  members,  number- 
ing 102,  which  number  has  been  reduced  by  the  fell  destroyer 
until  now  only  twenty-one  of  those  original  members  remain 
living. 

As  I  sat  in  my  library  reading  yesterday  evening  my  wife 
brought  to  me  a  framed  photograph  taken  ten  years  ago  to-day, 
June  1st,  1887,  from  the  steps  of  the  capitol  building.  That 
photograph  presents  forty-five  "Old  Settlers"  in  a  group.  I 
looked  upon  those  familiar  faces  with  pleasure  as  well  as  in 
sorrow.  Of  that  number  twenty-two  do  not  and  cannot  meet 
with  us  to-day,  as  they  are  gathered  in  other  realms,  from 
whence  they  cannot  return;  yet  I  feel  that  they  are  with  us 
to-day  in  memory  dear.    Thus  fall  the  sere  and  yellow  leaves. 


EARLY  TRADE  AND  TRADERS  IN  ST.  PAUL.* 


BY  CHARLES  D.  ELFELT. 


In  1840,  Bishop  Loras  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  being  desirous 
of  developing  the  truths  of  Christianity,  sent  the  Rev.  Lucian 
Galtier  as  a  missionary  to  St.  Peter  and  Fort  Snelling,  situ- 
ated on  opposite  sides  of  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peter  river, 
then  so  called.  He  found  a  number  of  Catholic  families  lo- 
cated at  a  point  about  six  miles  below  the  fort,  some  of  whom 
had  been  driven  oif  the  Military  Reserve,  which  extended  then, 
according  to  military  authority,  down  to  what  is  now  known 
as  the  "Seven  Corners."  He  at  once  called  the  good  people 
together  and  in  a  very  short  time  a  log  chapel  was  erected 
and  dedicated  to  their  patron,  Saint  Paul,  and  hence  the  name 
was  given  to  the  settlement,  and  from  that  day  attention  was 
drawn  to  its  locality.  Subsequently,  when  the  territorial  or- 
ganization took  place,  the  name  was  permanently  adopted. 

These  good  people  were  principally  old  French  voyageurs; 
some  of  them  had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany; and  others  of  them  were  employed  by  the  American 
Fur  Company,  and  by  the  sutler  at  Fort  Snelling,  who  did 
more  or  less  trading  with  the  Indians.  Whatever  they  re- 
quired had  to  be  obtained  either  from  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany's store  at  St.  Peter,  now  known  as  Mendota,  or  from 
the  sutler  at  Fort  Snelling,  there  being  no  store  in  their 
midst,  unless  you  would  so  call  a  few  barrels  of  whisky  and 
sundry  parcels  of  shot,  powder,  and  tobacco,  laid  away  in 
Peter  Parrant's  cellar  and  in  some  of  the  other  settlers'  cellars 
for  the  purpose  of  trading  for  a  few  furs  from  the  Indians. 


*Read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,   December  13, 
1897.    Mr.  Elfelt  died  April  28,  1891). 


164  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Parrant  located  at  this  point  about  the  year  1838,  and  has 
been  reported  by  some  of  our  historians  as  a  very  bad  char- 
acter, a  bad  man;  but  Mr.  Larpenteur  says:  "I  take  issue 
with  them  on  that  point,  as  I  knew  him  well;  he  was  no 
worse  than  any  of  the  pioneers  at  that  time,  and  if  his  only 
crime  was  selling  whisky  to  the  Indians,  they  all  did  it;  and 
the  American  Fur  Company,  under  another  name,  sold  ten 
barrels  where  the  other  poor  fellows  sold  one." 

In  the  fall  of  1842,  Henry  Jackson,  a  young  merchant 
from  Galena,  was  attracted  to  this  point  and  came  up  here 
with  a  general  stock  of  goods.  He  erected  a  log  cabin,  which 
served  as  both  a  dwelling  and  a  store,  on  what;  is  now  the 
corner  of  Jackson  and  Bench  streets,  having  bought  of  Ben- 
jamin Jarvis  about  two  acres  of  his  claim;  and  there  he  and 
his  wife  spent  the  winter,  beginning  what  may  be  called  the 
first  commercial  enterprise  in  the  place.  The  following 
spring,  in  1843,  William  Hartshorn  of  St.  Louis  made  a  trip 
up  the  Mississippi  river  for  the  purpose  of  buying  furs.  The 
boat  landed  at  St.  Paul,  and  Mr.  Jackson  came  on  board  and 
took  passage  up  to  Fort  Snelling.  On  the  boat  Jackson  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Hartshorn,  to  whom  he  sold  his  win- 
ter collection  of  furs.  At  the  same  time  the  two  entered  into 
a  co-partnership  that  was  the  beginning  of  the  firm  of  Jackson 
&  Hartshorn,  which  firm  existed  until  its  dissolution  in  1847. 

J.  W.  Simpson  opened  a  store  here  in  the  spring  of  1843, 
which  was  no  doubt  the  second  in  St.  Paul.  John  R.  Irvine, 
together  with  Mr.  Alexander  Meg6,  a  Frenchman,  also  opened 
a  store  in  1843,  with  a  general  assortment  of  goods.  Their 
place  of  business  was  near  the  site  of  the  Minnesota  Soap 
Company's  plant  on  Eagle  street. 

Capi  Louis  Robert  came  up  from  Prairie  du  Chien  in  the 
spring  of  1844  and  bought  the  old  cabin  occupied  by  Peter 
Parrant  in  1839  on  the  river  bank  at  the  foot  of  the  cooley,  a 
point  which  is  now  the  corner  of  Jackson  street  and  the  levee. 

This  year,  1844,  Mr.  Daniel  Hopkins  moved  his  stock  of 
goods  up  from  Red  Rock,  having  had  a  trading  post  there  for  a 
year  or  two  before.  He  bought  a  piece  of  ground  from  Henry 
Jackson,  on  the  corner  of  Third  and  Jackson  streets,  and  upon 


EARLY  TRADE  AND  TRADERS  IN  ST.  PAUL.         165 

it  built  a  commendable  frame  store,  which  was  probably  the 
first  one  of  the  kind  built  in  St.  Paul.  The  Fire  &  Marine 
Insurance  Building  now  occupies  the  greater  part  of  the  spot 
on  which  the  Hopkins  store  stood. 

The  following  year,  1845,  Dr.  John  J.  Dewey  opened  the 
first  drug  store,  just  below  Louis  Boberfs  store,  and  in  the 
same  building  Charles  Cavalier  carried  on  the  harness  busi- 
ness. Later  on,  in  1848,  Cavalier  sold  out  his  harness  business 
and  entered  into  partnership  with  Dewey,  forming  the  firm 
of  Dewey  &  Cavalier,  druggists. 

In  1847  the  firm  of  Hartshorn  &  Jackson  dissolved,  Jackson 
retaining  the  old  original  stand.  Hartshorn  moved  further  up 
town  and  occupied  a  building  formerly  built  by  Sergeant 
Mortimer.  Its  location  was  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the 
City  Central  Police  Station,  on  Third  street,  near  Hill  street. 
There  he  carried  on  his  business  of  general  merchandising 
and  Indian  trading  until  the  spring  of  1848,  when  he  sold  out 
and  was  succeeded  by  the  firm  of  Freeman,  Larpenteur  &  Co., 
who  removed  the  stock  down  town  into  their  new  store,  on 
the  corner  of  the  levee  and  Jackson  street.  This  firm  was 
succeeded  by  John  Bandall  &  Co.,  in  the  fall  of  1849. 

A.  L.  Larpenteur,  after  the  dissolution  of  Freeman,  Lar- 
penteur &  Co.,  opened  his  store  on  the  corner  of  Third  and 
Jackson  streets  in  the  spring  of  1850.  About  the  same  time, 
a  young  man  came  to  St.  Paul  with  letters  of  introduction  to 
Gov.  Bamsey  and  others.  He  engaged  himself  as  a  clerk  to 
Mr.  Larpenteur,  became  a  member  of  his  family,  and  remained 
with  him  until  November,  when,  becoming  homesick,  he  left 
St.  Paul  on  the  last  boat  and  returned  to  his  home  in  Phila- 
delphia, That  young  man  was  Mr.  William  H.  Bhawn,  who 
subsequently  became  the  president  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth 
Bailroad  Company,  and  is  now  president  of  the  National  Bank 
of  the  Bepublic,  Philadelphia. 

In  1837  the  American  Fur  Company  had  a  trading  post 
at  St  Peter  in  charge  of  Henry  H.  Sibley.  William  H.  Forbes 
clerked  for  Sibley  until  1847,  when  the  Fur  Company  estab- 
lished a  branch  store  in  St  Paul,  which  was  known  as  the 
St.  Paul  Outfit,  and  Forbes  was  placed  in  charge. 


166  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

In  1848  Nathan  Myrick  came  here  from  La  Crosse,  and 
engaged  in  general  merchandising.  The  same  year  A.  R. 
French,  a  discharged  soldier  from  Fort  Snelling,  engaged  in 
the  saddlery  business,  and  the  Pioneer  in  its  business  notices 
subsequently  called  him  the  "Harness  Mantua-maker." 

In  June,  1849,  Levi  Sloan  opened  quite  a  large  stock  of 
groceries  and  liquors  on  the  upper  part  of  Third  street  oppo- 
site to  the  American  House;  Hugh  McCann  sat  upon  the  bench 
as  a  cobbler;  Henry  W.  and  Charles  H.  Tracy  opened  on  the 
lower  part  of  Third  street  a  general  stock  of  merchandise;  and 
the  McCloud  Brothers  on  Bench  street,  near  Minnesota  street, 
opened  the  first  exclusive  stock  of  general  hardware  in  St.  Paul. 

In  October,  1849,  Pierre  Chouteau,  Henry  H.  Sibley,  Henry 
M.  Rice,  and  Sylvanus  B.  Lowery,  previously  trading  under 
the  name  of  the  Sioux,  Winnebago  &  Chippeway  Outfit,  dis- 
solved partnership.  Henry  M.  Rice  became  their  successor, 
and  removed  the  business  and  stock  to  Watab,  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Mississippi  river  a  few  miles  above  Sauk  Rapids. 

The  following  month  the  Elfelt  Brothers  occupied  the 
building  that  had  been  vacated  by  the  Outfit  Company,  with 
a  general  Stock  of  dry  goods,  clothing,  etc.  The  building  was 
located  on  Eagle  street  at  the  corner  of  Spring  street,  near 
the  upper  levee. 

Bartlett  Presley  started  the  same  autumn  with  a  small 
stock  of  pipes,  tobacco,  and  confectionery.  He  occupied  a  log 
cabin  on  Robert  street,  near  Third  street.  He  built  a  small 
stand  outside,  upon  which  he  displayed  his  wares,  and  from 
this  humble  beginning  he  built  up  a  large  and  flourishing 
trade. 

This  enumeration  comprises  nearly  all  the  business  enter- 
prises of  our  city  up  to  January  1st,  1850.  During  that  year, 
as  in  1849,  which  saw  the  organization  of  Minnesota  as  a  Ter- 
ritory, a  great  immigration  to  Minnesota  and  to  St.  Paul  took 
place.  Thenceforward  the  number  of  traders  and  lines  of 
business  rapidly  increased. 


c^ZK ^^< 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  III. 


THE  EARLY  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  MINNESOTA.  * 


BY  HON.  CHARLES  D.  GILFILLAN. 


After  the  admission  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin  into  the  Fed- 
eral Union,  that  part  of  the  Territory  of  that  name  outside  of 
the  state  lines  was  left  in  an  uncertain  political  condition. 
Was  it  still  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  with  the  old  laws  yet 
in  force,  or  was  it  not?  The  general  opinion  prevailed  that 
this  section  was  still  under  the  laws  passed  by  the  Territory 
of  Wisconsin,  and  that  the  governor  and  the  secretary  of  the 
Territory  were  still  occupying  the  same  positions  in  reference 
to  the  section  sliced  off.  It  was,  however,  thought  best  that 
an  agent  be  sent  to  Washington  to  urge  the  creation  of  a  new 
Territory.  Prominent  citizens  from  different  sections  of  the 
outside  Territory  met  at  Stillwater  and  selected,  for  this  pur- 
pose, Mr.  Henry  H.  Sibley,  who  was  then  at  the  head  of  the 
American  Fur  Company.  No  politics  entered  into  this  se- 
lection; it  was  made  because  Mr.  Sibley  was  then  the  most 
eminent  and  influential  person  in  the  region.  He  proceeded 
to  Washington.  After  the  lapse  of  a  few  months,  an  act 
creating  the  new  Territory  was  passed  and  Mr.  Sibley  was  ad- 
mitted as  its  delegate,  under  what  might  be  called  a  "squat- 
ter" election.  President  Taylor  appointed  Alexander  Ramsey 
to  be  tihe  governor  of  the  new  Territory  of  Minnesota,  He 
arrived  in  St.  Paul  in  the  latter  part  of  May,  1849,  and  shortly 
thereafter  issued  his  official  proclamation,  declaring  the  Ter- 
ritory organized,  and  provided  for  the  election  and  for  the 
meeting  of  a  legislature. 

On  June  14,  1849,  Colonel  James  M.  Goodhue,  in  an  issue 
of  the  Pioneer,  the  first  newspaper  published  within  the  limits 
of  the  new  territory,  urged  that  there  should  be  no  parties  in 


*Read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,  February  14,  1898. 


168  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

its  politics,  as  the  people  had  no  vote  in  national  matters  and 
had  no  power  to  command  anything,  while  on  the  contrary 
they  had  everything  to  ask  of  Congress.  "What  we  want, 
let  us  ask  for;  'ask,  and  yon  shall  receive.'  But  to  hold  out 
one  hand  to  secure  a  gift  and  the  other  to  strike,  is  the  con- 
duct of  a  madman." 

This?  was  the  declaration  of  the  policy  which  was  to  be- 
come and  remain  the  dominant  one  in  the  new  Territory  for 
the  next  few  years.  Goodhue  was  elected  public  printer  by 
the  first  legislature. 

It  would  be  impossible,  among  Americans,  and  especially 
among  those  in  the  West,  to  be  satisfied  with  one  political 
party;  the  elements  soon  began  to  work,  to  organize  an  oppo- 
sition party.  This  resulted  in  a  convention  held  October  20, 
1849,  in  which  a  platform  was  adopted,  according  to  its  own 
language,  embracing  the  principles  of  Jefferson,  Madison, 
Monroe,  Jackson,  and  Polk.  The  latter  had  already  almost 
sunk  into  forgetfulness,  but  the  memories  of  fat  gifts  of  pat- 
ronage still  lingered  in  the  minds  of  a  few  members  of  the 
convention.  Eice  does  not  appear  to  have  been  present  upon 
the  occasion  of  this  convention,  nor  Mr.  Sibley.  The  latter, 
however,  wrote  a  letter,  affirming  his  faith  in  the  political 
principles  of  Jefferson.  But  he  continued  to  cooperate  with 
those  citizens  who  thought  it  their  paramount  duty  to  work 
together  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  Territory. 

The  national  administration,  and  the  majority  of  Congress, 
were  Whig;  but  the  elements  in  the  territory  were  generally 
Democratic.  As  late  as  1851  there  were  not  sufficient  public 
lands  in  Minnesota  to  supply  one  year's  immigration,  with  a 
quarter-section  to  each  head  of  a  family.  All  the  country 
west  of  the  Mississippi  was  Indian  land,  and  all  north  of  a 
line  drawn  east  and  west  through  and  about  the  locality  of 
Princeton.  The  most  important  of  all  political  movements 
was  the  one  to  make  a  treaty  with  the  Sioux,  to  obtain  a 
title  to  their  land  in  Minnesota.  Mr.  Sibley  had  such  com- 
manding influence  with  the  Sioux,  that  no  treaty  could  be 
made  without  his  aid.  Mr.  Kice  had  no  influence  whatever 
with  the  Sioux.  It  was  necessary  for  Gov.  Eamsey,  in  bring- 
ing about  a  treaty,  to  enter  into  a  political  movement  with 
Sibley,  which  he  proceeded  to  do.     The  influence  of  Mr.  Sibley 


EARLY  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  MINNESOTA.  169 

among  the  Democrats  in  Congress,  and  of  Gov.  Ramsey  with 
the  National  Whig  administration,  resulted  in  the  extinguish- 
ment of  the  Sioux  title  to  all  of  their  land  within  the  present 
limits  of  Minnesota,  except  a  strip  of  land  lying  along  the 
Minnesota  river  below  Granite  Falls,  about  ten  miles  in  width 
and  sixty  miles  long,  which  was  retained  as  an  Indian  reserva- 
tion. 

There  was  bitter  opposition  to  this  treaty,  and  many 
charges  of  fraud  were  made.  But  the  opposition  came  from 
those  who  were  unable  to  manipulate  the  treaty  in  their  own 
interests.  The  charges  preferred  were  investigated  by  the 
United  States  Senate;  and  the  parties  censured  were  declared 
by  that  body  to  be  not  only  innocent,  but  their  conduct  was 
declared  to  be  highly  meritorious  and  commendable.  The 
public  mind  in  Minnesota  settled  down  to  the  belief  that  these 
charges  were  brought  by  a  set  of  unscrupulous  men  who  were 
not  permitted  to  manipulate  matters  for  their  own  interests. 
These  treaties  redounded  more  to  the  interests  of  Minnesota, 
in  its  early  days,  than  all  other  measures  combined.  The 
prominence  of  Mr.  Sibley,  and  his  powerful  aid,  rendered  him 
the  most  influential  man  among  the  Democrats  in  the  Ter- 
ritory. The  Whigs  of  all  stripes  soon  were  of  the  opinion 
that  Gov.  Kamsey  exhibited  the  greatest  wisdom  when  he 
formed  the  coalition  with  the  Sibley  Democrats.  The  Whigs 
alone  could  not  have  made  the  treaties.  The  Whigs  and  the 
Rice  Democrats  could  not  have  made  the  treaties.  Only  the 
Whigs  and  the  Sibley  Democrats  could  make  the  treaties,  and 
they  made  them. 

The  opposition  to  the  Territorial  administration  organized 
and  repeatedly  elected  members  of  the  legislature,  but  never 
a  majority.  The  larger  number  of  Democrats  preferred  to  act 
with  the  majority  of  the  Whigs.  But  still  the  organization 
of  forces  against  the  dominent  power  went  on.  In  August, 
1850,  a  coalition  of  anti-Sibley  Democrats  and  Whigs  brought 
out  Colonel  Mitchell  as  candidate  against  Sibley  for  delegate 
to  Congress.    This  election  resulted  strongly  in  favor  of  Sibley. 

A  very  bitter  feud  arose  between  the  members  of  the  Amer- 
ican Fur  Company  and  Mr.  Henry  M.  Rice,  who  had  formerly 
been  a  member  of  the  company.  The  Fur  Company  claimed 
that  Mr.  Rice  had  acquired  title  to  that  part  of  St.  Paul  then 


170  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

known  as  the  upper  town,  holding  it  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  title  to  Kittson's  addition  and  other  property  in  the  lower 
town  was  held,  simply  for  the  benefit  of  the  Fur  Company. 
Mr.  Rice  had  given  away  many  lots  in  the  upper  town  and 
had  sold  many,  and  he  was  the  man  above  all  others  instru- 
mental in  building  up  that  section.  Outside  of  the  members 
of  the  Fur  Company,  he  was  admired  for  his  generosity  and 
public  spirit. 

To  recover  this  property,  a  suit  in  chancery  was  brought 
by  the  Fur  Company  against  Mr.  Eice,  charging  him  with  all 
sorts  of  fraud.  The  feeling  of  bitterness  spread  from  the 
principals  to  their  adherents  throughout  the  Territory,  ex- 
tending to  judges,  jurors  and  officers  of  the  court,  as  well  as 
to  the  legislature,  and  justice  was  but  little  regarded.  As 
an  instance  of  the  extravagance  of  official  conduct,  there  can 
be  found,  in  the  first  or  second  Minnesota  Supreme  Court  re- 
ports, a  foot-note,  by  the  official  reporter,  to  this  effect,  "It  is 
but  justice  to  Mr.  Rice  to  say  that  he  denies  each  and  every 
one  of  the  charges  in  the  bill."  This,  I  think,  is  the  only  in- 
stance in  any  law  report  published  in  the  English  language, 
where  a  reporter  stepped  out  of  his  official  line  to  defend 
parties  to  a  lawsuit.  The  majority  of  the  legislature  was 
"Fur,"  and  they  created  new  judicial  districts,  to  which  they 
banished  inimical  judges,  where  they  would  have  no  judicial 
functions  to  perform. 

Naught  came  of  this  suit,  and  with  its  disappearance,  and 
with  the  withdrawal  of  the  American  Fur  Company  from  the 
Indian  trade,  the  political  influence  of  Mr.  Rice  ascended  rap- 
idly, while  that  of  Mr.  Sibley  declined.  At  the  next  delegate 
election,  Mr.  Rice  became  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  was  elected  by  a  large  majority  over  Alexander 
Wilkin,  who  ran  as  an  independent  Whig.  Some  Whigs,  and 
nearly  all  the  Democrats,  supported  Mr.  Rice.  By  this  time 
it  became  apparent  that  the  political  elements  of  Minnesota 
were  Democratic.  After  this  accession  of  Mr.  Rice  to  power, 
he  became  and  continued  the  undoubted  leader  of  his  party 
for  eight  years. 

During  the  days  of  the  Territory,  there  was  never  any 
general  organization  of  the  Whigs  as  a  party.  Some  of  them 
voted  with  the  Rice  Democrats,  but  the  greater  number  with 


EARLY  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  MINNESOTA.  171 

the  Sibley  side.  However,  there  was  a  local  exception  to 
this.  At  Stillwater  there  was  a  small  and  very  select  body 
of  Whigs,  who  preferred  to  act  upon  a  higher  plane  than  that 
chosen  by  either  of  the  other  parties.  These  Whigs  met  in 
convention,  and  nominated  a  straight  Whig  ticket.  They 
polled  fifty-two  votes  in  Stillwater,  and  elected  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Representatives.  This  member,  upon  arriving  at 
the  capitol,  kept  the  House  nearly  three  weeks  from  organiz- 
ing in  the  attempt  to  force  his  own  election  as  speaker.  This 
effort  cost  nearly  ten  thousand  dollars.  But,  as  Uncle  Sam 
paid  the  bills,  it  did  not  excite  much  indignation  on  the  score 
of  economy.  This  representative  then  lowered  his  aims  and 
compromised  upon  the  proposition  to  elect  his  friend  as  as- 
sistant clerk  of  the  house.  The  total  fruits  of  this  effort  of 
the  select  Whig  party  was  the  election  of  a  dull  man  to  an 
inferior  office,  which  he  was  incompetent  to  fill.  Thus  ended 
the  first  and  only  attempt  to  act  as  a  separate  party. 

During  the  next  four  years  the  Democrats  had  everything 
their  own  way,  but  they  were  divided  into  factions.  A  prom- 
inent man  among  them  was  David  Olmsted,  who  led,  during 
a  part  of  this  period,  the  anti-Rice  forces.  After  the  ap- 
pointment of  Willis  A.  Gorman  as  territorial  governor,  he  also 
joined  the  anti-Rice  forces,  and  endeavored  to  build  up  a  Dem- 
ocratic party  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Rice;  but  the  latter  posJ 
sessed  too  many  friends,  particularly  among  the  old  settlers, 
to  be  supplanted  by  a  newcomer.  In  1854  the  passage  of  the 
Nebraska  bill,  and  the  actions  of  the  Democratic  administra- 
tion in  Kansas,  shocked  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  of  the 
North,  and  made  a  deep  impression  in  Minnesota.  Many  of 
the  Democrats  threw  off  allegiance  to  their  party,  while  others 
resolved  to  fight  the  slavery  propaganda  inside  of  party  lines. 

In  March,  1855,  a  few  people,  strongly  anti-slavery,  most  of 
them  former  Democrats,  met  at  St.  Anthony,  passed  strong 
resolutions  upon  the  slavery  question,  and  provided  for  a 
general  Territorial  convention,  to  be  held  at  St.  Paul  on  the 
25th  of  the  following  July.  At  the  meeting  in  St.  Anthony, 
the  name  Republican  was  first  applied  to  a  party  within  the 
Territory.  This  name  was  adopted  by  the  July  convention, 
and  the  party  was  finally  launched  under  that  name.  The 
call  for  this  July  convention  was  signed  by  Alexander  Ramsey, 
William  R.  Marshall,  and  about  twelve  others.    The  conven- 


172  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

tion  adopted  and  sent  forth  a  strong  set  of  resolutions.  It 
elected  a  central  committee  of  fifteen,  of  which  the  writer  was 
made  chairman,  and  was  thus  provided  with  the  full  machin- 
ery of  a  party,  which  party  even  a  united  Democracy  could 
hardly  make  head  against.  This  convention  nominated  Wil- 
liam R.  Marshall  as  delegate  to  Congress,  On  the  same  day, 
Mr.  Rice  was  nominated  as  the  Democratic  candidate  of  the 
National  Democracy.  Some  time  after  this,  Mr.  Olmsted  was 
brought  out  as  the  anti-Nebraska  Democratic  candidate.  The 
election  resulted  in  favor  of  Mr.  Rice,  who  received  a  hand- 
some plurality,  but  not  a  majority. 

The  meeting  at  St.  Anthony,  and  the  convention  at  St. 
Paul,  had  been  governed  by  a  set  of  men,  a  majority  of  whom 
were  very  radical  and  might  be  called  purists.  They  attempt- 
ed to  build  a  political  party  upon  the  lines  of  a  church  organ- 
ization. They  put  into  the  platform  a  Maine  Liquor  Law 
plank.  Perhaps  they  thought  that  this  plank  would  be  ac- 
ceptable to  a  majority  of  the  people;  for,  some  years  before, 
the  legislature  had  passed  a  Maine  liquor  law,  to  be  effective 
upon  the  ratification  by  the  people.  This  law  was  approved 
by  about  fifty-eight  per  cent  of  the  voters.  To  those  of  you 
who  have  been  familiar  with  St.  Paul  for  the  last  twenty-five 
years,  it  will  seem  a  little  amusing  that  this  law  was  approved 
by  its  electors,  with  a  good  majority.  When  its  vote  was 
ascertained,  all  the  church  bells  of  the  city  rang  for  joy.  The 
Olmsted  Democrats  denounced  the  proslavery  ideas  of  the 
National  Democrats,  and  the  Maine  liquor  law  of  the  Repub- 
licans. Minnesota,  at  this  early  date,  had  acquired  a  large 
German  population,  of  whom  90  per  cent,  at  least,  were  anti- 
slavery,  and  100  per  cent  against  the  Maine  liquor  law.  They 
voted  principally  for  Olmsted.  This  was  the  first  and  last 
move  ever  made  in  a  Republican  general  convention  for  a  gen- 
eral prohibitory  liquor  law  in  Minnesota. 

In  1854  and  1855,  a  matter  creating  quite  a  commotion  in 
politics  arose  out  of  a  grant  of  lands  made  by  Congress  to  aid 
in  the  building  of  railroads.  Immediately  upon  the  passage 
of  the  act,  the  word  "or"  or  "and,"  I  do  not  remember  which, 
had  been  changed,  so  as  to  give  the  lands  to  a  then  existing 
railroad  company.  Congress,  in  its  indignation,  immediately 
repealed  the  act.  The  company  claimed  that  rights  were  at 
once  vested  in  the  grant,  which  placed  it  beyond  the  power  of 


EARLY  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  MINNESOTA.  173 

repeal.  A  great  political  fight  followed  in  Minnesota,  eon- 
fined  solely  to  the  Democrats.  The  party  friends  of  the  rail- 
road company,  headed  by  Mr.  Rice,  were  on  one  side,  and  the 
friends  and  appointees  of  General  Gorman  on  the  other  side. 
The  latter  called  themselves  "anti-fraud  Democrats."  Both 
parties  had  their  newspaper  organs;  and  a  stranger,  reading 
them,  w7ould  have  supposed  that  the  people  of  the  place  were 
nearly  all  bad.  In  a  year  or  two  thereafter,  the  United  States 
courts  decided  that  the  repealing  act  was  valid,  and  that  no 
grant  existed.  This  removed  the  great  source  of  contention 
between  the  parties  in  the  Territorial  times.  A  stranger  then 
reading  the  newspapers  would  have  thought  that  the  people 
of  the  country  were  tolerably  good. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  Republicans  united  the  different 
factions  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  from  then  on  till  after 
the  admission  of  the  state,  during  the  years  1856  to  1860,  a 
great  work  was  done  on  behalf  of  the  Republicans,  to  educate 
the  voters  to  their  way  of  thinking.  Nearly  all  the  Repub- 
lican speakers  of  national  reputation  were  brought  to  Minne- 
sota to  do  missionary  work.  Of  these,  I  can  recall  the  names 
of  Lyman  Trumbull,  Owen  Lovejoy,  John  P.  Hale,  Zachary 
Chandler,  Dan  Mace,  Galusha  A.  Grow,  Schuyler  Colfax,  Carl 
Schurz,  and  Frank  P.  Blair,  Jr.  Among  a  portion  of  the  people 
there  existed  an  opinion  that  the  Republicans  were  a  little 
puritanical  in  their  notions;  and  it  was  thought,  by  the  Cen- 
tral Committee,  that  Frank  P.  Blair,  Jr.,  could  do  them  a  great 
deal  of  good.  He  lived  in  St  Louis,  and,  in  that  city,  had 
made  a  gallant  fight  in  behalf  of  the  anti-slavery  cause,  with 
great  success.  He  was  immensely  popular  with  the  "boys." 
He  came,  and  there  was  no  disappointment  in  the  result. 
Some  funny  incidents  occurred  among  other  things.  In  an 
ambitious  city  in  the  Minnesota  valley,  there  was  a  coterie  of 
active  young  Democrats,  who  conspired  to  defeat  his  work  in 
their  locality.  Upon  his  arrival,  they  agreed  to  take  him  in 
charge,  and  two  or  three  of  their  number  were  to  show  him 
Democratic  attention.  After  an  hour  or  two,  two  or  three 
more  were  to  take  him  in  charge  and  continue  the  attention, 
and  so  on.  On  his  arrival,  they  proceeded  to  carry  out  their 
plans.  At  the  time  appointed  for  the  Republican  meeting, 
Samson  appeared,  and  made  a  powerful  anti-slavery  argument. 


174  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

The  Democratic  zealots  were  not  there.  These  Delilahs  had 
been  shorn  and  were  helpless.  They  had  forgotten  that  Blair 
belonged  to  one  of  the  oldest  Democratic  families  in  the  coun- 
try, and  that  his  father  had  been  the  most  intimate  adviser  of 
General  Jackson.  Either  they  had  forgotten  this,  or,  if  not, 
they  had  not  yet  discovered  the  law  of  heredity.  After  this, 
there  was  no  further  attempt  to  overcome  Blair  by  Demo- 
cratic weapons. 

Another  speaker  who  exercised  great  influence  was  Carl 
Schurz.  This  distinguished  orator,  who  was  master  of  the 
English  as  well  as  of  the  German  language,  possessed  great 
clearness  of  ideas,  exactness  of  expression,  and  sincerity  of 
manner,  and  made  a  most  profound  impression  upon  Ameri- 
cans as  well  as  upon  Germans. 

In  the  year  1857  commenced  the  great  campaign,  wherein 
the  stakes  were  many  times  larger  than  ever  before.  A  state 
constitution  was  to  be  made  and  adopted,  and  under  it  were 
to  be  elected  a  governor  and  state  officers,  twx>,  if  not  three, 
members  of  congress,  and  two  United  States  senators.  In 
view  of  these  great  prizes,  all  factions  in  either  party  came 
together,  and  the  battle  was  fought  with  united  forces  on  both 
sides.  In  the  first  election,  both  sides  claimed  the  election 
of  a  majority  of  their  own  faith,  as  delegates  to  the  constitu- 
tional convention.  Upon  the  arrival  of  the  delegates  at  St. 
Paul,  an  effort  was  made  by  the  leaders  on  both  sides  to  agree 
upon  a  line  of  conduct  which  would  avoid  a  disgraceful  scene, 
and,  perhaps,  a  failure  to  make  a  constitution  at  all.  The 
parties  could  not  agree,  and  each  side  prepared  to  grab  first, 
and  as  much  as  they  could,  or,  to  use  the  language  of  the  re- 
spective parties,  to  secure  their  rights. 

The  convention  was  to  meet  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  at  noon.  As  both  territorial  and  city  ad- 
ministrations were  Democratic,  it  was  feared,  on  the  part  of 
the  Republicans,  that  an  attempt  might  be  made  to  clear  the 
hall  of  Republicans,  or  to  prevent,  by  the  aid  of  the  police,  the 
entrance  of  Republican  delegates  to  the  hall.  The  Repub- 
licans concluded  to  take  possession  of  the  hall  the  evening 
before,  camp  there  all  night,  and  be  on  hand  when  the  hour 
arrived.  This  they  did.  As  the  hour  approached,  the  Demo- 
cratic delegates  came  into  the  hall;  and  precisely  at  twelve 
o'clock,  Mr.  Chase,  Secretary  of  the  Territory,  and  Mr.  North, 


EARLY  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  MINNESOTA.  175 

a  Republican  delegate,  sprang  to  their  feet,  nominated  a  chair- 
man, and  declared  him  elected.  The  chairman  declared  elect- 
ed by  Mr.  Horth  got  possession  of  the  seat  first,  and  the  Re- 
publicans proceeded  to  organize  the  convention. 

The  Democrats  withdrew,  and,  after  caucusing  awhile,  ap- 
peared at  the  outside  of  the  door  of  the  hall  with  ex-Governor 
Gorman  at  their  head.  He,  after  looking  in,  turned  to  his 
followers,  and  in  that  clear,  sonorous  voice  of  his,  said,  "A 
mob  has  taken  possession  of  the  Hall  of  Representatives  and 
the  convention  will  proceed  to  the  Senate  Chamber  to  organ- 
ize," which  the  Democratic  wing  immediately  proceeded  to  do. 

About  one-third  of  the  time  occupied  by  the  convention 
in  its  entirety  was  devoted  by  orators  to  showing  posterity 
that  their  particular  convention  was  a  legal  one,  and  the  other 
a  false  one.  Hennepin  county  was  entitled  to  eight  delegates, 
and  without  these,  the  Democratic  convention  could  in  no 
sense  claim  a  majority.  The  Republican  candidates  from  that 
county  and  received  the  regular  certificates  of  election  issued 
by  the  authority  provided  by  law,  for  that  purpose,  namely, 
the  register  of  deeds.  The  Democrats  complained  that  he 
had  ignored  the  facts  and  had  arbitrarily  and  unlawfully  is- 
sued these  certificates.  The  Democratic  governor  promptly 
removed  the  register.  The  people  renominated  him  for  the 
same  office,  and  the  issue  was  plainly  made  up.  He  was  tri- 
umphantly elected  by  several  hundred  majority.  "Vox  populi, 
vox  Dei,"  is  an  old  Democratic  maxim;  and,  tried  by  this  test, 
I  submit  to  you,  my  hearers,  did  the  Democrats  have  any 
claim  whatever  to  have  the  regular  constitutional  convention? 
As  I  do  not  believe  that  this  maxim  is  always  infallible,  I 
cannot  answer  the  query  myself. 

After  the  speakers  in  each  convention  had  exhausted  them- 
selves  in  making  their  side  appear  right  to  those  present  and 
to  posterity,  they  proceeded  to  the  business  of  making  a  con- 
stitution; appropriate  committees  were  appointed,  and  com- 
mon sense  soon  began  to  prevail  among  the  better  men  of  both 
sides.  As  soon  as  an  article  was  drawn  and  discussed  by 
each  convention,  it  was  submitted  to  the  proper  committee 
of  the  opposite  wing;  and  so  on,  through  all  of  the  different 
subjects,  until  an  instrument  agreeing  in  all  respects,  includ- 
ing orthography  and  punctuation,  was  adopted  by  each  body. 


176  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

As  a  rule,  the  ablest  men  of  each  party  belonged  to  one  or 
the  other  conventions,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  if  each  party 
had  acted  entirely  independent  of  the  other,  the  result  would 
have  been  practically  the  adoption  of  the  same  instrument 
The  art  of  constitution-making  had  then  become  well  under- 
stood, and  all  constitutions  made  during  the  previous  twenty 
years  contained  practically  the  same  principles;  although  it 
was  believed,  by  the  members  of  each  party,  that  the  framing 
of  a  constitution  under  the  guidance  of  their  side  would  re- 
dound much  to  the  advantage  of  their  party.  I  do  not  think 
it  would  have  made  any  difference,  except  in  the  matter  of 
apportionment  for  the  members  of  the  legislature.  The  party 
which  obtained  the  mastery  would  have  taken  good  care  that 
their  side  should  not  suffer  in  this  respect.  The  constitution 
formed  gave  universal  satisfaction  and  was  approved  by  the 
people. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  constitutional  convention, 
each  party  met  in  convention  and  nominated  candidates  for 
the  different  state  offices,  and  also  for  three  members  of  con- 
gress. The  Democratic  ticket  was  headed  by  the  name  of 
H.  H.  Sibley  for  governor,  and  the  Republican  by  Alexander 
Eamsey.  After  an  exciting  campaign,  the  Democratic  ticket 
was  declared  elected,  and  Sibley  installed  as  governor  in  ac- 
cordance therewith.  The  Democrats  obtained  a  small  major- 
ity in  the  legislature,  and  elected  Henry  M.  Rice  and  General 
James  Shields  as  United  States  senators.  The  latter  was  a 
newcomer,  and  his  election  was  a  bitter  dose  to  many  of  the 
old  settlers  in  the  party. 

At  the  next  election,  in  1859,  the  Republicans  again  placed 
Alexander  Ramsey  at  the  head  of  their  ticket.  In  1857  the 
Democrats  had  the  control  of  the  election  machinery  and  of 
the  canvassing  board.  It  was  unanimously  believed  by  the 
Republicans,  and  by  many  of  the  Democrats,  that  Governor 
Sibley  was  not  elected,  but  only  counted  in.  The  race  in  1857 
had  shown  that  ex-Governor  Ramsey  was  a  very  popular  man 
among  the  masses,  running  several  hundred  votes  ahead  of 
the  balance  of  his  ticket.  The  idea  that  he  had  been  unjustly 
treated  in  1857  was  of  immense  advantage  to  him  in  1859,  and 
to  the  balance  of  the  Republican  ticket,  and  the  entire  Repub- 
lican ticket  was  then  elected.  The  Republican  party  was  thus 
entrenched  in  power  in  the  State  of  Minnesota,  and  they  have 


EARLY  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  MINNESOTA.  177 

never  since  been  dislodged,  during  a  period  of  nearly  forty 
years.  There  have  been  but  two  cases  in  the  United  States 
where  the  Republican  party  has  shown  such  a  hold  upon  state 
government. 

Perhaps  no  portion  of  the  West  contained  a  body  of  men 
equal  in  ability  to  those  found  here  upon  the  organization  of 
the  Territory.  Most  of  them,  although  passing  the  greater 
portion  of  their  lives  in  the  wilderness,  were  well  educated, 
and  intellectually  were  of  surprising  brightness.  It  was  a 
singular  fact  that  all  the  Indian  traders  were  Democrats ;  not 
a  Whig,  as  far  as  I  knew,  was  among  them.  This  can  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact  that  during  their  residence  here  they 
were  under  a  national  Democratic  administration,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  four  years  comprising  the  terms  of  Presidents 
Taylor  and  Fillmore.  It  was  clearly  their  interest  to  be  on 
good  terms  with  the  administration  from  whom  they  received 
the  license  to  trade,  and  who  could  facilitate  or  hinder  their 
trade  with  the  Indians.  I  think  that  it  was  their  realization 
of  these  facts  that  caused  the  traders,  under  the  Whig  adminis- 
tration, to  keep  aloof  from  building  up  and  maintaining  a 
strict  partisan  organization  of  their  own  liking,  and  "which 
led  them  to  cooperate  cordially  with  those  who  claimed  to 
work  for  the  interests  of  the  Territory. 

There  was  something  peculiar  to  the  Indian  trade  which 
benumbed  the  fine  notions  of  honor  necessary  to  success  in 
commerce  between  white  men.  To  those  having  a  slight 
insight  into  the  trade,  it  would  seem  to  be  more  or  less  neces- 
sary that  the  commercial  conscience  should  be  other  than  that 
existing  between  civilized  people.  It  was  a  singular  fact  that 
nearly  all  these  traders  carried  their  Indian  conscience  into 
politics.  These  men  became  after  a  time  much  disliked  by 
the  masses  of  their  own  party,  and  were  styled  by  them  "Moc- 
casin' Democrats."  However,  they  were  the  brains  of  the 
party  and  pulled  it  through  some  very  tight  places,  through 
which  they  would  not  have  passed  without  their  aid.  The 
influence  of  the  Moccasin  Democracy  ended  with  the  election 
of  Mr.  Lincoln.  It  had  supported  Breckenridge  as  against 
Douglas,  and  made  a  very  sorry  exhibit  of  strength.  From 
that  time  it  disappeared  as  a  political  factor. 

The  press  exercised  a  great  influence  in  politics,  as  well  as 

in  the  development  of  the  material  interests  of  the  Territory. 

12 


178  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

I  cannot  close  this  paper  without  some  mention  of  a  most 
remarkable  character,  Col.  James  M.  Goodhue,  who,  during 
his  short  life  in  Minnesota,  of  about  three  years,  exercised  a 
greater  influence  upon  the  political  life  and  material  develop- 
ment of  Minnesota  than  all  the  other  newspaper  men  during 
that  period.     Born  a  Yankee,  liberally  educated,  he  came  west 
as  a  young  man,  and  advanced  farther  west  to  Minnesota 
within  a  few  days  after  its  Territorial  existence  began.     With- 
out capital,  but  with  a  hand-press  and  a  font  of  type,  he  com- 
menced to  publish  his  paper  in  a  wooden  shanty,  which  he 
with  his  own  hands  put  up.     He  acted  at  the  same  time  as 
editor,  typesetter,  devil,  and  newsboy.     Soon  a  large  portion 
of  the  people  of  Minnesota  read  his  paper,  and  its  circulation 
extended  throughout  the  Western,  Middle,  and  Eastern  states. 
I  first  read  it  in  Missouri,  in  1850,  and  through  it  was  led  to 
come  to  Minnesota.    Goodhue  had  the  sarcasm  of  a  Junius, 
and  the  wit  of  a  Prentiss.    As  a  specimen  of  the  former,  at 
the  conclusion  of  a  scathing  article  upon  some  of  the  Terri- 
torial officials,  he  said,  "The  gall  we  have  shown  is  very  honey 
compared  to  what  we  have  in  reserve  for  them."    As  a  speci- 
men of  his  wit,  with  the  sting  in  it,  in  speaking  of  a  federal 
officer  whose  influence  in  obtaining  his  appointment  was  a 
mystery,  and  whose  business  conduct  was  not  always  credit- 
able, and  who  in  the  free  and  easy  western  way  had  borrowed 
a  small  boat  and  gone  down  the  river  in  the  night,  he  says: 
"He  stole  into  the  Territory,  he  stole  in  the  Territory,  and  he 
stole  out  of  the  Territory."     As  a  specimen  of  his  playful 
humor,  he  says :     "Our  citizens  were  treated  to  an  address  by 
our  distinguished  townsman,  the  Hon.  John  A.  Smith,  Esq., 
author  of  'The  Black  Hawk  War/  and  an  unpublished  Novel 
of  Intense  Interest!"    Again,  upon  twins  appearing  in  his 
family,  he  says,  "Our  patrons  ought  now  to  take  two  papers." 
In  the  winter  season,  when  Minnesota  was  shut  off  from  the 
world  and  without  mail  for  weeks,  he  published  a  most  inter- 
esting paper;  its  issue  was  looked  for  with  the  expectation 
of  something  racy,  and  the  readers  were  not  disappointed. 
His  paper  always  advocated  the  adoption  of  measures  neces- 
sarily attendant  upon  a  high  civilization.     He  wrote  three 
editorials  urging  the  necessity  of  securing  grounds  for  a  public 
cemetery,  but  he  died  before  this  wish  was  realized,  and  to-day 
no  man  knoweth  where  his  bones  lie. 


EARLY  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  MINNESOTA.  179 

The  most  remarkable  man,  in  many  respects,  who  ever 
appeared  in  the  Northwest,  was  Joseph  R.  Brown.     Coming 
as  he  did,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  a  drummer-boy  in  the  United 
States  Army,  he  remained  in  this  section  for  nearly  sixty 
years.    He  was  engaged  principally  in  the  Indian  trade.     I 
think  he  was  a  clerk  in  the  Wisconsin  Territorial  Legislature 
for  one  term.     Certain  it  was  that  as  Secretary  of  the  Minne- 
sota Council  during  its  first  and  second  sessions,  as  clerk  of 
the  Minnesota  House  at  its  fourth  session,  in  1853,  during 
the  next  two  years  as  a  member  of  the  Council,  and  in  1857 
as  a  member  of  the  House,  he  was  one  of  the  most  influential 
men  in  the  Legislature.     He  drew  up  most  of  the  bills,  and 
often  told  the  presiding  officer  how  to  rule.     This  he  did  in 
no  dictatorial  manner,  but  because  nearly  all  of  the  members 
knew  nothing  about  legislation.    He  usually  attended  party 
conventions,  and,  although  often  weak  in  the  number  of  his 
followers,  he  would  gather  in  a  good  portion  of  the  fruits  of 
the  convention.     He  had  a  most  infectious  laugh,  and  a  keen 
sense  of  humor,  and  was  always  the  center  of  a  crowd.    Those 
people  who  had  been  prejudiced  against  him,  having  no  knowl- 
edge of  him  except  that  derived  from  newspaper  accounts,  and 
from  his  political  enemies,  after  being  a  few  moments  in  his 
presence,  were  satisfied  that  "Jo,  the  Juggler,"  was  not  so 
bad  a  man  after  all.    For  many  years  after  I  came  to  Minne- 
sota, knowing  but  little  of  him  through  personal  contact,  and 
a  good  deal  of  him  from  newspaper  accounts,  I  thought  him 
the  very  incarnation  of  deviltry.     During  the  years  of  1863 
and  1864,  I  had  a  good  deal  of  business  with  him,  and  was 
much  in  his  society,  and  I  soon  learned  to  admire  him.     He, 
no  doubt,  had  been  the  best  abused  man  in  the  country.     He 
would  often  laugh  in  late  years  over  the  bad  things  that  had 
been  said  of  him.     He  possessed  one  very  noble  attribute:  he 
entertained  no  hard  feeling  towards  those  who  had  reviled 
him.    He  had  a  good  heart,  and  would  put  himself  to  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  to  do  a  kindness,  even  to, those  who  had 
traduced  him.    He  was  a  well-read  man,  and  wrote  and  spoke 
the  French  language  with  ease.    At  one  time  he  was  the 
editor  of  the  Pioneer,  the  organ  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
filled  the  position  with  credit.     He  would  dash  off  rapidly 
pages  of  editorial  matter,  ready  for  the   type,    without   an 


180  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

erasure.  How  he,  as  well  as  some  other  of  the  earlier  traders 
acquired  their  learning,  is  a  mystery  to  me. 

The  most  prominent  and  influential  men  in  the  earlier 
politics,  who  overshadowed  all  others,  were  Ramsey,  Sibley, 
and  Rice,  and  I  think  they  stood  in  the  order  in  which  I  have 
named  them.  There  were  several  other  leading  men  who 
afterwards  gained  political  distinction,  but  the  limit  of  this 
paper  prevents  my  describing  them. 

Mr.  Rice  had  to  make  his  way  against  the  business  power  of 
his  enemies,  and  he  succeeded  in  getting  to  the  top.  He  was 
a  man  of  fascinating  address  and  great  energy,  and  his  labor, 
while  in  Congress,  was  unflagging.  He  worked  for  the  people 
at  large,  as  well  as  for  individuals,  for  political  foes,  as  well 
as  friends,  and  no  official  from  Minnesota  has  been  his  equal 
in  getting  work  done  for  his  constituents.  Many  Whigs  went 
over  to  the  Democratic  party  and  remained  there,  owing  to 
their  attachment  for  Mr.  Rice. 

Nearly  all  the  actors  in  the  events  I  have  described  are 
now  dead.  Before  their  departure,  all  bitterness  accruing 
from  political  strife  had  ceased  and  they  took  their  leave  in 
peace,  with  feelings  of  good  will  towards  all.  Full-grown 
men  upon  the  stage  of  life,  like  boys  in  their  school  days,  say 
bad  things  at  times  about  each  other,  call  each  other  liars 
and  other  opprobrious  names,  and  have  their  fights  occasion- 
ally. Yet,  when  these  days  are  past,  such  matters  are  only 
touched  upon  as  subjects  of  merriment  and  joke. 

There  was  one  thing  about  the  early  pioneers  that  their 
descendants  should  be  proud  of,  namely,  that  no  disloyal 
voice  was  ever  raised  against  the  Federal  Union.  Among  all 
the  factions  in  the  parties  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  War,  the  number  of  disloyal  persons  could  be  counted 
on  the  fingers  of  one  hand.  The  contrast  in  this  respect  with 
some  of  the  neighboring  states  east  and  south  of  us  should 
be  remembered  by  us  and  those  who  come  after  us  with  great 
pride.  It  would  perhaps  be  a  good  thing  for  us  to  become 
worshipers  of  the  patriotic  manes  of  our  ancestors  and  of  the 
founders  of  this  state. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  MIN- 
NESOTA, AND  THE  EARLY  MISSIONS  OF  PARK 
PLACE,  ST.  PAUL.* 


BY  BISHOP  M.  N.  GILBERT. 


Three  blocks  away  from  where  we  are  now  sitting,  on  the 
first  rise  of  the  bluff,  is  situated  Park  Place,  a  square  or  more 
in  extent,  with  a  pleasant  little  park  in  the  center.  Summit 
avenue  bounds  it  on  the  north,  St.  Peter  street  on  the  east, 
College  avenue  on  the  south,  and  Rice  street  on  the  west. 

Entering  this  park  from  St.  Peter  street,  you  will  discover 
on  the  south  side,  in  the  midst  of  a  row  of  neat  cottages,  a 
medium-sized  frame  building,  rather  antique  in  its  style  of 
architecture,  with  its  gable  end  toward  the  street,  like  the 
old  Albany  houses  in  Knickerbocker  days.  This  modest  struc- 
ture, now  neglected  and  uninviting,  has  a  history,  and  that 
history  is  connected  with  early  days  of  St.  Paul.  This  little 
house  was  builded  by  the  founders  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Minnesota,  and  was  occupied  by  the  first  missionaries  of 
that  church  for  some  years.  This  was  in  1850,  when  St.  Paul 
was  a  small  village  of  one  thousand  inhabitants,  confined  to 
the  plateaus  below  the  site  of  Park  Place,  and  grouped  about 
the  upper  landing,  at  the  foot  of  what  is  now  Chestnut  street. 
Park  Place  then  was  in  a  very  real  way  the  edge  of  the  wilder- 
ness, which,  almost  unbroken,  extended  northward  into  the 
frozen  land  of  the  unknown. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  many,  and  will  serve  the  intent  of 
this  paper,  if  I  briefly  sketch  the  history  connected  with  the 


♦Read  before  the  Society,  March  28,  1898. 


182  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

purchase  and  occupancy  of  this  tract  of  land  at  that  early 
day.  It  is  so  closely  linked  with  the  history  of  St.  Paul  and 
Minnesota,  that  it  should  not  be  overlooked  by  the  one  who, 
in  the  future,  may  write  the  history  of  this  city  and  common- 
wealth. 

This  early  history  is  closely  linked  with  the  life  and  experi- 
ences of  a  very  remarkable  man,  the  Rev.  James  Lloyd  Breck. 
Let  us  take  a  condensed  restrospect  of  his  career.  It  has 
within  it  a  combination  of  remarkable  qualities,  illustrative 
of  the  character  of  the  men  who,  in  all  ages,  have  been  the 
pioneers  of  institutional  life,  both  in  the  affairs  of  Church 
and  State.  Man  is  always  the  central  fact  around  which,  and 
from  which,  springs  the  crystallization  of  all  organism  in  the 
growth  and  development  of  the  race.  In  studying  man  we 
study  the  meaning  and  motive  of  every  organism,  and  become 
cognizant  of  the  substantial  purpose  which  underlies  all.  The 
more  mature  development  of  the  institution  may,  and  doubt- 
less will,  depart  widely  from  the  form  involved  in  the  person- 
ality of  its  founder,  but  the  energizing  force  generated  by  that 
founder  is  never  wholly  exhausted.  This  law  and  principle  are 
wonderfully  illustrated  in  the  work  of  this  early  missionary 
and  founder  of  ecclesiastical  institutions,  James  Lloyd  Breck. 
He  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1818,  graduated  from  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1838,  and  from  the  General 
Theological  Seminary  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  New  York 
in  1841. 

It  was  during  his  seminary  course  that  the  project  of  going 
into  the  wilderness  of  Wisconsin,  and  founding  there  an  asso- 
ciate mission,  almost  monastic  in  its  character,  first  entered 
his  mind  and  crystallized  into  a  purpose.  The  first  missionary 
bishop  of  the  Northwest,  Jackson  Kemper,  visited  the  sem- 
inary and  in  glowing  language,  and  with  high  enthusiasm, 
told  the  story  of  the  new  land  and  its  vast  possibilities  for 
devoted  missionary  endeavor.  His  words  sank  d£ep  into  the 
impressionable  heart  of  the  young  theological  student,  and  he, 
unhesitatingly,  offered  himself  to  Bishop  Kemper  for  this 
work.     Two  others,  classmates,  Hobart  and  Adams,  threw  in 


MISSIONS  OP  PARK  PLACE,  ST.   PAUL.  183 

their  lot  with  him.  On  their  graduation  and  ordination  in 
the  early  summer  of  1841  they  started  on  the  then  long  and 
fatiguing  journey  to  the  Northwest.  Wisconsin  then  was 
almost  a  wilderness,  but  the  tide  of  immigration  was  swelling 
and  flowing  over  its  prairies  and  into  its  forests.  Breck,  and 
his  co-laborers,  planted  their  standard  on  the  outward  edge 
of  this  outflow  by  a  cluster  of  beautiful  lakes  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  virgin  forest,  and  began  their  singularly  courageous  and 
self-denying  work,  which  lives  to-day  in  the  flourishing  Theo- 
logical Seminary  of  Nashotah. 

Their  life  was  one  of  extreme  simplicity,  and  their  mis- 
sionary labors  most  primitive  in  their  character.  For  their 
daily  bread  they  relied  upon  the  continued  interest  of  eastern 
friends;  their  lives  were  full  of  privation,  but  the  record,  as 
read  in  their  letters,  was  one  of  enthusiastic,  unconquerable 
zeal.  The  institution  grew;  it  was  the  Iona  of  the  west.  Mis- 
sionaries trained  therein  went  forth  with  the  advancing  popu- 
lation, preaching  the  gospel  and  founding  churches. 

Years  went  on;  this  school  of  the  prophets  became  a  perma- 
nent fact.  Breck  grew  impatient  of  this  circumscribed  life. 
His  soul  longed  for  the  freedom  of  a  new  missionary  field, 
where  the  seed  could  again  be  sown  in  virgin  soil.  Others 
now  could  carry  forward  the  work  he  had  founded  and  nur- 
tured. His  eyes  turned  longingly  toward  the  west,  to  the 
border  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  to  the  Territory  of  Minnesota, 
just  organized.  It  was  practically  an  unknown  land.  The 
white  man  had  founded  a  few  small  settlements  upon  its  ex- 
treme eastern  border,  but  its  vast  interior  was  the  home  of 
the  Ojibway  and  the  Sioux.  The  voice  of  God  called  him  to 
go  in  and  possess  this  land  for  the  gospel  and  his  church. 
Like  St.  Paul,  he  was  "not  disobedient  unto  the  heavenly 
vision,"  but,  hearing,  obeyed. 

With  two  kindred  spirits,  Timothy  Wileoxson  and  John  A. 
Merrick,  he  left  the  comfortable  environs  of  Nashotah  and 
started  westward.  They  reached  the  Mississippi,  where  now 
stands  the  thriving  city  of  La  Crosse.    The  Rev.  Mr.  Wilcox- 


184  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

son  in  a  letter  tells  the  story  of  their  experiences  there  in  the 
following  words: 

We  spent  the  fourth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  June  23d,  1850,  at  Prai- 
rie La  Crosse— then  a  hamlet  of  fifteen  or  twenty  houses.  We  held 
service  and  celebrated  the  Holy  Communion  in  the  morning,  on  a 
bluff  about  two  miles  back  of  the  landing.  In  the  afternoon  we  held 
a  service  by  the  river  side  at  the  house  of  a  German  named  Levy.  The 
next  morning  we  paddled  a  canoe  over  the  river,  some  distance  above 
La  Crosse,  and  there  kept  the  Feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  And 
there,  for  the  first  time,  the  Associate  Mission  for  Minnesota  stood  on 
the  soil  of  Minnesota.  A  rustic  cross  was  reared  beneath  a  large  and 
spreading  elm  tree;  and  the  stone  on  which  the  elements  of  the  Holy 
Sacrament  were  consecrated  was  the  same  thin  slab  of  limestone  that 
the  day  before  served  as  an  altar  on  Altar  Rock,  back  of  La  Crosse 
landing. 

Such  a  scene  carries  us  in  imagination  back  to  those  days 
of  primitive  Christianity  when  the  groves  were  God's  temples 
and  the  blue  sky  the  canopy  of  their  altar.  The  picturesque 
simplicity  of  the  lives  of  these  men  was  one  of  their  distin- 
guishing and  unique  characteristics. 

Leaving  La  Crosse,  they  came  on  northward  to  St.  Paul, 
then  a  struggling  village  at  the  head  of  navigation,  where 
they  were  to  found  their  permanent  center  of  missionary 
work.  This  was  forty-eight  years  ago.  The  population  of  St. 
Paul  was,  even  then,  most  cosmopolitan  in  its  make-up.  This 
was  the  distributing  point  for  the  whole  interior  and  the  point 
from  which  the  far  away  settler  in  Rupert's  Land  obtained  his 
supplies  and  carried  them  back  over  the  hundreds  of  miles 
of  prairie  in  his  primitive  cart  to  his  home  on  the  border  of 
the  Red  river  of  the  North.  A  few  years  afterward,  the  Eng- 
lish traveller,  Laurence  Oliphant,  described  in  vivid,  if  not  in 
flattering  terms,  the  condition  of  life  then  existing  in  St.  Paul. 
He  wrote: 

As  the  Territory  is  only  six  years  old,  all  here  are  strangers  and 
adventurers;  and  the  most  confused  Babel  of  languages  greets  our 
ears  as  we  stroll  along.  Of  course,  the  Anglo-Saxon  language,  in  its 
varied  modifications  of  Yankee,  English,  Scotch,  and  Irish,  prevails; 


MISSIONS  OF  PARK  PLACE,  ST.   PAUL.  185 

but  there  is  plenty  of  good  French,  and  the  voyageur  patois,  Chippewa 
or  .  Sioux,  German,  Dutch,  and  Norwegian.  The  possessors  of  these 
clivers  tongues  are,  however,  all  very  industrious  and  prosperous,  and 
happy  in  the  anticipation  of  fortune-making.  Joining  ourselves  to 
some  of  these,  we  may  enter  with  them  a  bowling-saloon,  as  these 
afford  great  opportunities  for  observing  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  inhabitants.  The  roughest  characters  from  all  parts  of  the  West, 
between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific,  collect  here,  and  from  morn- 
ing till  night,  shouts  of  hoarse  laughter,  extraordinary  and  compli- 
cated imprecations,  the  shrill  cries  of  the  boy  markers  cal/lng  the 
game,  and  the  booming  of  the  heavy  bowls,  are  strangely  intermingled, 
and  you  come  out  stunned  with  noise  and  half  blinded  with  tobacco 
smoke.  Some  of  these  men  were  settlers  from  Pembina  and  the  Red 
River  settlements.  They  come  down  to  Traverse  des  Sioux  with  a 
long  caravan  of  carts,  horses,  and  oxen.  These  they  leave  here,  and 
take  steamer  to  St.  Paul  for  a  hundred  miles  down  the  St.  Peter,  and 
lay  in  their  luxuries  of  civilization,  and  those  necessaries  of  life 
which  are  unprocurable  in  their  remote  settlement.  They  were  just 
starting  for  their  return  journey  when  we  were  at  St.  Paul,  and  did 
not  expect  to  arrive  at  Pembina  for  a  month  or  six  weeks.  *  *  *  * 
The  country  through  which  they  pass  abounds  in  buffalo,  but  it  is  also 
infested  with  hostile  Sioux,  who  have  lately  been  particularly  earnest 
in  their  quest  for  white  scalps,  and  they  are  consequently  compelled 
to  raise  a  breastwork  for  protection  at  the  camping-ground  every 
night.  In  winter,  the  journey  is  made  with  dog  teams  and  snow-shoes. 
The  population  upon  the  Red  river  is  made  up  of  half-breeds,  buffalo 
hunters,  and  Scotch  farmers,  besides  a  few  Indian  traders. 

Into  this  strange  and  composite  life  and  humanity,  these 
three  men,  bearing  the  message  of  peace  and  good  will,  en- 
tered. Surely  there  was  need  for  their  message,  and  abundant 
opportunity  at  their  very  doors  for  the  preaching  of  right- 
eousness, and  the  gospel  of  an  universal  brotherhood  in  Jesus 
Christ. 

Changes  were  going  rapidly  forward  in  this  new  land.  A 
commonwealth  was  coming  to  the  birth.  The  transition  from 
the  wilderness  to  the  cultivated  farm  and  tidy  home  was  tak- 
ing place. 

Fredrika  Bremer,  who,  as  the  guest  of  Governor  Bamsey 
in  1850,  spent  some  time  in  St.  Paul,  thus  graphically  described 
the  steps  in  this  transition: 


186  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

The  trees  fall  before  the  axe,  a  little  log  house  is  erected  on.  the 
skirts  of  the  forest  and  banks  of  the  river;  a  woman  stands  in  the 
door  with  a  little  chubby  child  in  her  arms.  The  husband  has  dug  up 
the  earth  around  the  house,  and  planted  maize;  beyond,  graze  a  couple 
of  fat  pows,  and  some  sheep  in  the  free,  unenclosed  meadowland.  On 
the  shelf  is  a  Bible,  a  hymn  book,  and  some  other  religious  book.  A 
little  further  off  stands  a  somewhat  larger  log  house,  where  a  dozen 
or  two  of  children— the  half  wild  offspring  of  the  wilderness— are  as- 
sembled. This  is  the  school.  The  room  is  poor,  without  furniture,  but 
the  walls  are  covered  with  maps  of  all  parts  of  the  globe.  Anon  other 
houses  spring  up,  some  of  framed  timber,  some  of  stone;  they  become 
more  and  more  ornamental;  they  surround  themselves  with  fruit 
trees  and  flowers.  You  see  a  chapel  of  wood  arising  at  the  same  time 
with  the  wooden  houses;  but  when  the  stone  house  comes,  then  comes 
the  stone  church  and  the  State  House.  The  fields  around  are  covered 
with  harvests;  flocks  and  herds  increase.  Motherly  women  institute 
Sunday  Schools  in  the  church,  and  assemble  the  little  children  to  in- 
struct them  in  Christianity,  and  establish  an  asylum  for  orphaned  lit- 
tle ones. 

The  scene  depicted  herein  is  a  true  photograph  of  the 
evolving  condition  of  a  new  State,  and  has  been  reproduced 
again  and  again  in  all  our  great,  new  West.  It  is  the  counter- 
balancing picture  to  that  presented  by  the  English  traveller. 

Breck  and  his  companions,  upon  their  arrival,  pitched  a 
Sibley  tent  on  the  bluff  near  the  corner  of  what  is  now  Sum- 
mit avenue  and  St.  Peter  street,  in  which  they  lived  until  the 
completion  of  a  small  house,  twelve  by  sixteen  feet  in  size. 
The  domestic  duties  of  this  little  home  were  performed  by 
some  one  or  more  of  the  party  in  turn. 

A  youth,  the  present  Eev.  T.  J.  Holcombe,  of  New  York, 
who  was  the  original  student  of  the  Diocesan  Theological 
Seminary,  in  a  series  of  interesting  reminiscences  recently 
published,  gave  some  vivid  pen  pictures  of  the  experiences  of 
these  pioneer  missionaries.  He  wrote:  "From  the  first  all 
domestic  duties  were  looked  after  chiefly  by  Mr.  Wilcoxson 
and  myself.  He  did  the  cooking,  and  the  washing  fell  to  my 
lot,  as  I  was  the  only  experienced  hand.  I  had  learned  the 
trade  at  Nashotah,  having  there  served  on  the  washing  com- 
mittee, with  other  distinguished  men,  for  the  best  part  of  a 


MISSIONS  OF  PARK  PLACE,  ST.   PAUL.  187 

year.  Dr.  Breck  occasionally  assisted  at  the  wash  tub,  but 
he  could  not  iron  a  collar  or  shirt  to  save  him." 

On  the  date  of  their  arrival  in  St.  Paul,  the  Eev.  E.  G.  Gear, 
who  was  then  the  chaplain  at  Fort  Snelling,  was  the  only 
clergyman  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Territory. ,  Prior 
to  their  arrival  he  had  held  occasional  services  in  the  town. 
The  Roman  Catholics  had  some  time  before  erected  a  small 
chapel  dedicated  to  St.  Paul;  and  Rev.  Edward  D.  Neill  (clarum 
et  venerahile  nomen)  had  also  built  a  Presbyterian  church  on 
the  corner  of  Third  and  St.  Peter  streets.  The  Methodists 
the  year  preceding  had  completed  a  small  brick  chapel  on 
Market  street,  which  is  still  standing.  The  Baptists  had  or- 
ganized, but  had  not  completed  a  house  of  worship. 

Dr.  Breck,  with  a  wise  far-sightedness,  recognized  the  ad- 
vantages of  St.  Paul's  location,  and  prophesied  its  future,  and 
proceeded  to  secure  property  for  his  Church.  By  enlisting, 
through  correspondence,  the  interest  of  a  few  friends  in  the 
East,  he  succeeded  in  procuring  means  for  purchasing  a  site 
for  the  future  Christ  Church,  and  also  real  estate  as  a  founda- 
tion for  general  church  work  in  the  Territory.  The  first  pur- 
chase for  this  purpose  was  two  acres  of  land,  which  now  form 
the  easterly  part  of  Park  Place  Addition  to  St.  Paul.  This 
was  conveyed  by  Vetal  Guerin  and  wife  to  James  Lloyd  Breck 
by  deed  dated  July  2nd,  1850,  for  a  consideration  of  flOO. 
Very  soon  afterwards  another  purchase  was  made  of  Vetal 
Guerin  of  one  acre  adjoining  the  first  purchase  on  the  west, 
for  a  consideration  of  $50.  The  following  year  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Gear  purchased  for  $50,  and  gave  to  the  mission,  one  acre 
next  west  of  their  former  purchase.  About  the  same  time 
Dr.  Breck  secured  from  John  R.  Irvine,  for  $100,  two  acres 
next  west  of  the  above.  These  six  acres  were  long  known  as 
the  Episcopal  Mission  Grounds,  but  were  later  platted  as 
Park  Place  Addition.  Afterward  Dr.  Breck  secured  of  Mr. 
Irvine  a  lot  facing  on  Rice  street  and  running  back  to  the 
line  of  property  already  secured. 

You  can  see  at  once  that  there  was  thus  secured  a  very 
valuable  foundation  in  real  estate  for  the  Church,  and  this  at 
almost  a  nominal  price.    For  some  time  it  was  occupied  solely 


188  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

by  the  Associate  Mission;  but  afterward  some  of  the  ground 
was  leased  and  a  hotel  erected  thereon,  known  as  the  Park 
Place,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1874.  Later  the  corpo- 
ration which  held  the  property  donated  an  ample  tract  in  its 
center  for  a  public  park,  on  condition  that  the  city  would  im- 
prove, preserve,  and  adorn  it.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  this  con- 
dition has  not  been  satisfactorily  fulfilled.  In  1880  heavy  as- 
sessments, required  by  extensive  street  improvements,  made 
it  necessary  to  dispose  of  a  portion  of  this  land.  With  the 
money  accruing  from  these  sales  a  certain  number  of  the  re- 
maining lots  were  improved,  by  the  erection  of  dwelling 
houses. 

The  income  from  this  property  is  used  for  the  support  of 
the  episcopate  in  the  Diocese  of  Minnesota.  In  1890  a  net 
income  of  over  $ 4,000  per  year  was  realized,  but  the  falling  of 
rentals  of  late  years  has  reduced  this  amount  more  than  one- 
half.  The  property,  as  the  most  casual  observer  can  see,  is 
well  and  pleasantly  located,  and  will,  in  time,  be  of  great  value 
to  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  state. 

It  is  a  fine  illustration  of  the  wisdom  of  securing  property 
in  the  earliest  days  of  a  city  or  village.  This  property,  which 
in  1850  cost  not  more  than  $500,  is  now  valued  at  $75,000.  It 
has  always  been  wisely  administered  by  a  board  called  the 
Minnesota  Church  Foundation,  which  has  numbered  among 
its  members  such  men  as  Bishop  Whipple,  General  Sibley, 
Col.  B.  A.  Robertson,  William  Dawson,  and  Harvey  Officer,  of 
St.  Paul;  Judge  Wilder,  of  Red  Wing;  and  Judge  Atwater 
and  Henry  T.  Welles,  of  Minneapolis. 

To  return  to  our  pioneer  missionaries  and  their  life  under 
the  oaks  of  the  future  Park  Place.  We  have  already  given 
one  glimpse  of  that  primitive  household;  let  us  glance  again 
and  note  some  other  incidents  of  that  earlier  day.  Mr.  Hol- 
combe  was  the  only  student  of  that  theological  seminary,  but 
the  rules  and  regulations  were  the  same  as  if  there  had  been 
twenty.  The  household  retired  at  ten  o'clock  and  rose  at  five. 
As  Mr.  Holcombe  humorously  puts  it:  "The  first  roll  call 
was  made  from  the  region  of  Dr.  Breck's  corner,  and  was 
answered  readily,  as  we  each  had  a  cot  in  the  same  Gothic 


MISSIONS  OF  PARK  PLACE,  ST.   PAUL.  189 

roofed  chamber,  and  so  were  within  easy  hearing  distance. 
The  second  call  was  at  six  o'clock  to  morning  prayer,  a  full 
service;  then  breakfast  according  to  Wilcoxson,  wThich,  be- 
cause of  his  inexperience,  was  not  always  a  success.  The 
faculty  met  once  a  month,  or  as  the  exigencies  of  the  occasion 
might  require.  As  a  hen  scratches  as  diligently  for  one  chick 
as  for  ten,  so  one  student  will  sometimes  try  a  faculty  more 
than  a  full  contingent." 

It  wras  in  these  simple,  yet  potential  duties,  that  those 
early  missionaries  labored.  It  was  the  day  of  the  laying  of 
foundations,  and  they  were  careful  to  lay  them  well;  yet  the 
demands  of  petty  detail  in  no  wise  absorbed  their  attention 
or  time  to  the  exclusion  of  other  and  larger  work.  It  is  the 
mark  of  a  truly  great  mind  to  strike  a  true  balance  between 
near  and  remote  duties,  to  never  allow  the  view  of  the  hillock, 
at  his  own  door,  to  obscure  the  higher  and  vaster  mountain 
ranges  beyond. 

These  men  had  come  to  this  new  land  to  plant  their  Church, 
to  spread  the  tidings  of  the  gospel  near  and  far,  to  minister 
to  the  few  scattered  over  the  prairies,  and  in  the  hamlets  of 
the  country  round.  Park  Place  and  its  little  mission  house  was 
virtually  a  point  of  departure,  as  well  as  a  haven  of  refuge 
and  rest  on  the  return.  Here  they  planned  their  campaign, 
and  here  together  they  related  their  individual  experiences  on 
their  missionary  journeys,  and  took  sweet  counsel  one  with 
another. 

The  Episcopal  Church  in  Minnesota  was  born  in  that  little 
Gothic  structure,  and  from  thence  it  has  spread  over  the  whole 
extent  of  the  state.  Like  the  early  missionaries  of  the  cross, 
they  were  without  "purse  or  scrip/'  and  lived  with  extreme 
abstemiousness  and  simplicity.  The  Mission  was  unable  to 
keep  a  horse,  much  less  to  support  one,  consequently  their 
journeys  were  all  made  on  foot.  Cheerfully  and  uncomplain- 
ingly they  traversed  in  this  way  prairies  and  forest  lands. 
Missions  were  established  within  the  year  at  the  Falls  of  St. 
Anthony,  Stillwater,  Willow  River  (now  Hudson),  Prairie  La 
Crosse,  Cottage  Grove,  Marine  Mills,  and  Sauk  Rapids.  With 
two  or  three  exceptions,  these  were  the  only  settlements  in 


190  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  Territory.  General  Sibley  and  Henry  M.  Rice  were  living 
at  Mendota,  and  there  was  a  trading  post  at  Traverse  des 
Sioux  on  the  Minnesota  river,  near  the  present  site  of  St.  Peter. 

Picture  to  yourselves  these  men  of  God,  going  on  foot 
through  a  country,  virtually  a  wilderness,  to  Sauk  Rapids, 
seventy  miles  to  the  north,  and  to  La  Crosse,  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  to  the  south.  Neither  summer's  heat  nor  win- 
ter's cold  and  storms  dismayed  them.  Duty  called  and  they 
obeyed.  Such  a  life  was  little  understood  by  the  men  of  that 
day,  who  had  come  to  this  new  land  simply  to  win  a  worldly 
future.  Some  at  first  scoffed,  but  soon  silent  admiration  and 
respect  prevailed.  Men  might  not  imitate  such  sublime  devo- 
tion and  self-sacrifice  for  spiritual  things,  but  they  could  honor 
the  high  spirit  which  prompted  it.  A  simple  incident  illus- 
trates the  devout  purpose  of  the  head  of  the  mission,  and  the 
consciousness  of  his  responsibility  to  others. 

On  his  way  to  one  of  the  stations  he  came  to  a  stream. 
There  was  no  bridge.  It  was  already  late  in  the  season,  and 
the  chill  of  the  autumnal  air  warned  of  the  danger  of  fording 
the  stream  barefoot.  A  stage-coach,  by  chance,  was  passing 
that  way,  and  the  driver,  recognizing  the  clerical  dress,  kindly 
invited  the  traveller  to  ride.  The  passengers  pressed  him. 
To  their  surprise  he  declined  the  offer,  and,  removing  his 
boots  and  stockings,  he  waded  the  stream  and  pursued  his 
journey,  reaching  the  village  at  the  hour  appointed  for  service. 
Few  could  understand  this.  But  it  was  done  as  a  rule  of  daily 
life,  and  an  act  of  self-discipline,  a  relaxation  of  which  would 
have  tended  to  unfit  him  for  his  severe  manner  of  life. 

These  missionaries'  journeys  at  times  (to  quote  the  language 
of  our  diocesan  historian)  lay  through  the  wildest  woods  and 
over  the  bare  rolling  prairies,  where  the  cabin  of  the  settler 
appeared  only  at  a  distance  of  ten  or  fifteen  miles.  The  mis- 
sionaries had  all  the  experiences  of  a  frontiersman  in  his  foot 
marches,  and  in  his  coarse  diet,  and  in  the  exposed  sleeping 
apartments.  The  journeys  on  foot  not  infrequently  extended 
into  late  hours  in  the  night,  and  through  parts  where  all  was 
(solitary,  save  to  the  wild  beast,  which  at  any  moment  might  be 
roused  from  his  lair  to  the  great  discomfiture  of  the  traveller. 


MISSIONS  OF  PARK  PLACE,  ST.   PAUL.  191 

The  huge  black  bear  and  the  wolverine  were  common  to  the 
forests  of  the  St.  Croix;  and  many  a  sharp  and  shrill  cry  of 
surprise  arose  from  deep  dell  and  towering  tree  on  the  ap- 
proach of  human  footsteps.  At  times  the  way  was  lost,  and 
sometimes  not  found  before  the  next  morning.  Two  mission- 
aries passed,  after  this  manner,  a  night  in  the  open  air,  and 
were  drenched  before  morning  by  the  falling  rain  of  a  thunder 
storm.  On  another  occasion  a  missionary,  lost  in  the  thickets, 
wandered  about  in  fruitless  search  all  the  day,  and  at  sun- 
setting  emerged  at  the  same  place  where  he  had  entered  early 
in  the  morning. 

Many  were  the  experiences  of  so  new  a  country.  In  the 
spring  and  summer,  streams  broad  and  deep  must  be  waded, 
in  the  winter  they  could  be  crossed  on  the  ice;  but  then  the 
snow  had  filled  up  the  trail,  and  the  missionary,  as  a  foot 
traveller,  was  subjected  to  continuous  plunges,  up  to  his  waist, 
in  the  snow  drifts,  which  he  must  contend  with  for  twelve 
miles  together,  after  his  morning  service,  in  order  to  meet  his 
night  appointment.  Again  the  settler  was  not  always  mind- 
ful as  he  ought  to  be  of  the  comfort  of  Christ's  minister,  who 
came  to  preach  the  word  and  break  the  Bread  of  Life,  and  he 
would  be  left  to  satisfy  bis  hunger  from  the  scant  contents 
of  his  knapsack;  and  one  occasion  is  recalled  wherein  he  was 
left  in  the  log  schoolhouse  to  pass  the  night  alone,  and  it  was 
a  cold  one,  and  the  hard  oaken  bench  was  his  bed.  But  then 
the  welcome  home  to  the  mission  house  on  the  bluff  in  St.  Paul 
made  him  forget  that  he  had  been  neglected.  Had  there  been 
no  brother  to  ring  out  the  merry  peal  from  the  bell,  from  its 
natural  turret  in  the  oak  tree,  it  would  have  been  a  cheerless 
return.  But  the  fellow  laborer  and  sufferer  was  there,  the 
enthusiastic  young  Divinity  student  was  there;  and  above  all 
it  was  home,  and  within  that  home  was  sympathy,  love,  and 
cheer. 

Soon  after  their  arrival  and  settlement  on  the  Mission 
Grounds,  they  took  steps  to  organize  a  parish  and  hold  a 
church  service  in  St.  Paul.  A  meeting  of  citizens  was  called, 
a  vestry  organized,  numbering,  among  its  seven  members,  our 
own  honored  and  respected  townsman  still  with  us,  Hon.  R.  R. 


192  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Nelson.  Ground  was  secured,  and  in  December,  1850,  Christ 
Church  was  opened  for  Divine  service.  It  was  a  modest  edi- 
fice, measuring  20  by  40  feet,  with  a  turret  and  chancel,  and 
was  situated  on  Cedar  street  between  Third  and  Fourth  streets. 
Many  of  our  older  citizens  will  recall  it.  Therein  were  bap- 
tized their  children,  and  from  it  were  carried  their  dead.  Dr. 
Breck  became  its  first  rector,  to  be  succeeded  in  1853  by  his 
associate,  Eev.  Timothy  Wilcoxson.  Two  prominent  names  of 
clergymen  are  associated  with  this  Mother  Parish  of  the  Dio- 
cese of  Minnesota,  Rev.  Dr.  Van  Ingen  and  Eev.  Dr.  McMas- 
ters.  It  has  also  had  connected  with  its  history  some  of  the 
most  honored  and  influential  citizens  of  our  city.  Churches 
were  erected  also  the  following  year  in  St.  Anthony  and  in 
Stillwater. 

The  first  visit  of  Jackson  Kemper,  the  missionary  bishop 
of  the  Northwest,  whose  home  was  at  Nashotah,  in  Wisconsin, 
is  thus  pleasantly  and  vividly  described  by  one  who  knew 
him : 

At  last  the  expected  day  dawned,  and,  ere  its  close,  the  venerable 
missionary  bishop  was  welcomed  by  the  ringing  of  the  mission  bell, 
hung  in  the  boughs  of  an  aged  oak.  The  distant  whistle  of  the  steamer 
had  brought  nearly  the  wThole  motley  population  to  the  levee.  Anon 
the  signal  is  given,  a  moment  of  stillness  follows,  the  engines  are  re- 
versed, the  boat  rises  and  falls,  there  is  a  mingled  confusion  of  clicking 
and  splashing  and  hurrying,  and  she  moves  into  her  mooring  under 
the  burden  of  boxes  and  bales,  the  hawser  is  cast,  the  gang  plank  grates 
along  the  sand,  and  a  man  with  the  dress  and  mien  betokening  his 
commission  is  met  by  one  whose  tall  form  and  priestly  appearance  dis- 
tinguish him  amid  the  careless  jostling  crowd  on  the  shore.  Greetings 
follow  and  the  bishop  is  escorted  to  the  mission  house,  where  due 
preparation  awaits  his  expected  arrival.  Wednesday  is  the  day  noted 
in  the  diary  of  the  bishop,  a  July  day,  when  the  days  are  at  their  bright- 
est, ere  the  foliage  has  been  blighted  by  heated  winds  over  acres  of 
upturned  loam. 

There  was  then  but  a  bridle  path,  or  the  wheels  of  an  occasional 
cart  had  merely  worn  away  the  turf,  where  now  four  streams  of  com- 
merce are  parted.  A  year  and  upwards  had  passed.  The  well  kept  gar- 
den, the  enclosure,  the  walks,  and  the  grassy  lawn,  were  silent  wit- 
nesses of  the  care  of  busy  hands.  Each  gable  seemed  expectant  of  some 
distinguished  visitant.  The  diamond-shaped  windows  were  transparent, 
as  was   meet  for  such  an  occasion.    The   cot   in  each    corner   of   the 


MISSIONS  OF  PARK  PLACE,  ST.   PAUL.  193 

attic,  the  floors,  the  snow-white  linen,  the  utensils  in  the  kitchen,  all 
bespoke  the  faultless  housekeeping  of  the  brothers.  Morning  prayer 
had  been  said,  the  litany  hour  had  already  passed.  The  day  was  now 
drawing  to  its  close.  In  the  little  schoolroom  the  weary  lad  had 
yawmed  for  the  last  time  over  the  blurred  sentence.  Evening  prayer 
was  said;  the  bishop  gave  his  absolution  to  the  kneeling  household, 
after  the  evening  bell,  the  Angelus  of  the  neighborhood;  and  each 
rested. 

At  the  "sweet  hour  of  praise"  the  Holy  Eucharist  wTas  consecrated; 
It  was  Thursday,  the  day  then  and  long  afterwards  observed  by  an 
early  weekly  communion.  Later  came,  at  the  "third  hour,"  morning 
prayer;  then  each  member  of  the  household  wrent  forth  to  his  duty; 
and  as  the  shadows  lengthened  the  evening  prayer  shut  the  day.  Thus 
four  days  passed  with  their  changing  seasons  of  duty  and  devotion. 
The  twentieth  of  July  was  Sunday,  the  ideal  Sunday  of  George  Herbert, 
a  day  full  of  interest  to  the  church  fold  in  the  consecration  of  their 
first  house  of  prayer,  named  after  the  Master,  Christ  Church. 

This  is  almost  an  idyllic  picture,  but  it  is  a  faithful  por- 
traiture of  the  simple  sanctity  of  the  life  at  the  Mission,  and 
of  the  experiences  of  a  pioneer  bishop. 

The  Associate  Mission  continued  until  1852,  when  it  was 
dissolved.  The  work  entered  upon  another  stage.  Parochial 
clergy  began  to  arrive.  The  work  of  the  embryo  theological 
school  was  merged  into  that  of  the  older  institution  at  Nasho- 
tah,  and  the  members  of  the  mission  entered  upon  other  work. 
Rev.  J.  A.  Merrick,  for  reasons  of  health,  sought  a  milder 
climate;  and  Rev.  Mr.  Wilcoxson,  as  above  stated,  became  the 
rector  of  Christ  Church.  Breck,  the  leading  spirit  and  head, 
with  that  ever  venturesome  and  apostolic  spirit,  which  was 
his  marked  characteristic,  turned  his  face  northward,  pene- 
trated the  wilderness  two  hundred  miles,  and  began,  at  GuJl 
lake,  a  mission  among  the  Ojibways. 

It  falls  not  within  the  scope  of  this  paper  to  follow  in  detail 
the  careers  of  these  courageous  souls.  We  may  note,  how- 
ever, that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wilcoxson,  after  two  years'  successful 
charge  of  Christ  Church,  resigning  his  care,  threw  himself 
with  ardor  into  the  more  congenial  work  of  the  itinerant  mis- 
sionary, and  for  years  gave  himself  unreservedly  to  it,  during 
which  time  he  was  the  rector  of  St.  Luke's  Church,  Hastings; 
until  at  last,  broken  in  health  by  the  hardship  and  exposures, 

13 


194  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

he  retired  to  his  native  state  of  Connecticut,  where  he  entered 
into  the  rest  of  Paradise  in  1884.  His  widow,  full  of  years, 
loved  and  honored  by  all  who  are  privileged  to  know  her, 
abides  with  us  still,  and  tells,  with  never  flagging  interest  to 
listeners,  the  fascinating  story  of  these  early  pioneer  times, 
when  "all  the  world  was  young." 

The  story  of  the  experiences  of  James  Lloyd  Breck,  after 
leaving  St.  Paul,  is  full  of  romance  and  pathos,  of  devoted 
labors  and  never  waning  zeal,  of  high  purpose  and  wise  foun- 
dation laying,  which  have  made  his  name  the  synonym  of  the 
ideal  missionary  to  the  whole  American  Church. 

Building  by  the  shining  water  of  Gull  lake  a  little  chapel, 
which  he  called  St.  Columba,  after  the  pioneer  missionary  of 
Scotland  and  northern  Britain,  he  gathered  around  him  a  band 
of  Christian  Indians,  who  looked  up  to  him  as  a  father  and  a 
heavenly  guide.  Soon*turning  this  work  over  to  other  hands, 
his  restless  energy  carried  him  still  farther  into  the  northern 
wilderness,  and  again  he  became  the  founder  and  head  of  a 
mission  among  the  Ojibways  on  Leech  lake.  Great  success 
attended  him.  The  little  church  was  filled  with  worshippers, 
children  of  the  forest  gathered  in  his  school,  the  seed  was 
planted,  it  was  taking  root  and  promising  a  bountiful  return, 
when  disaster  fell  upon  him  and  the  mission. 

Crazed  by  the  "fire  water,"  which  in  those  lawless  days 
the  white  man  dealt  out  unstintingly  to  the  Indian,  the 
heathen  Indians,  of  the  Pillager  band,  drove  this  man  of  peace 
and  of  God  away  from  their  midst,  destroyed  the  mission 
buildings,  and  frightened  into  silence  and  seclusion  the  few 
faithful  natives  who  had  declared  themselves  Christians.  It 
was  not  until  seventeen  years  afterward  that  this  work  was 
revived,  when  it  was  found  that  many  had  retained  their  faith, 
and  ever  prayed  for  the  return  of  the  messenger  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace. 

Undismayed,  recognizing  in  this  trying  dispensation  the 
leading  of  God's  hands  into  other  fields  of  work,  he  went 
southward  to  Faribault.  Here  he  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
noble  educational  work  upon  which  Bishop  Whipple  has  so 
wisely  and  successfully  builded. 


MISSIONS  OF  PARK  PLACE,  ST,  PAUL.  195 

After  nine  years  of  remarkable  work,  the  voice  of  God 
seemed  once  more  to  call  him  to  again  lay  foundations.  Leav- 
ing Faribault,  he  crossed  the  continent  in  1867,  and  at  Benicia 
in  California,  at  the  head  of  another  Associate  Mission,  mod- 
elled after  the  one  with  which  he  began  in  St.  Paul  in  1850, 
he  laid  the  foundations  of  a  college  and  theological  seminary. 
Here  on  the  outermost  border  of  his  native  land,  by  the 
shores  of  the  great  western  sea,  worn  out  by  cares  and  labors, 
he  passed  into  a  well  won  rest  in  the  bosom  of  God. 

Last  October,  I  stood  underneath  the  oaks,  and  by  the 
crystal  lakes  of  sylvan  Nashotah,  and  with  bowed  head,  wit- 
nessed the  reinterment  of  all  that  was  mortal  of  this  saint  and 
confessor  of  the  nineteenth  century,  this  apostolic  missionary, 
this  true  soldier  of  the  cross,  James  Lloyd  Breck.  The  story 
of  his  life  is  forever  inwrought,  not  only  into  the  history  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Northwest,  but  into 
the  history  of  its  civic  life  as  well,  for  he  was  always  the 
harbinger  of  civilization  and  the  promoter  of  its  truest  weal. 

I  have  thought  it  best  to  give  in  outline  the  story  of  this 
unique  life  as  a  small  contribution  to  the  history  of  this  State, 
which,  through  this  noble  society,  is  striving  to  enshrine  and 
perpetuate  the  lives  of  its  heroes  and  founders. 

I  have  endeavored  to  bring  before  you  the  beginnings  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  in  Minnesota,  with  the  setting  in  which 
these  beginnings  were  framed,  and  with  some  of  the  figures 
standing  out  more  prominently  in  that  picture. 

L^p  to  the  year  1850  the  Church  had  never  before  entered 
a  Territory  so  young  and  so  completely  a  wilderness  as  was 
this,  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  word.  There  were  only  three 
villages  throughout  an  area  greater  than  New  York  and  all 
New  England.  The  number  of  communicants  was  fifteen,  of 
whom  six  belonged  in  St.  Paul.  Only  a  narrow  strip  of  land, 
eighteen  miles  wide  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  length,  had 
yet  been  ceded  by  the  red  man  to  the  United  States.  The 
missionaries,  when  they  pitched  their  tents  on  the  high  bluffs 
of  St.  Paul,  could  look  beyond  the  Mississippi  river  and  see  the 
aborigines  in  their  wigwams  and  wild  attire.  The  country 
was  a  fairy  land,  but  nature  could  tell  of  dark  deeds  of  vio- 


196  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

lence,  and  as  late  as  1850  Stillwater  witnessed  a  scalp  dance. 
There  was  wisdom  in  entering  the  land  thus  early.  The  Epis- 
copal Church  has  reaped  the  benefits  of  this  policy,  in  the 
after  history  of  the  Diocese  of  Minnesota,  The  church  is 
relatively  stronger  here  than  in  any  of  the  other  states  in  the 
whole  Mississippi  valley.  While  she  has  not  become,  by  any 
means,  the  largest  in  numbers  of  any  of  the  Christian  bodies, 
owing  largely  to  a  population  naturally  unsympathetic  with 
her  methods  of  worship,  yet  I  think  I  may  confidently  affirm 
that  she  has  won  a  first  place  in  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
the  people  of  the  state.  The  men  who  laid  her  foundations 
were  men  of  large  heart,  catholic  spirit,  and  far  reaching  vision. 
The  intense  earnestness  and  sincerity  of  these  men  left  upon 
the  population,  who  believed  in  reality  and  not  in  shams  or 
show,  a  lasting  and  honorable  impression.  For  nearly  half  a 
century  she  has  stood  for  the  Vincentian  formula,  "In  essen- 
tials unity,  in  unessentials  liberty,  in  all  things  charity." 

But  it  is  not  my  province  to-night  to  laud  the  Episcopal 
Church.  Its  history  is  not  concealed.  It  speaks  for  itself. 
It  has  been  my  simple  privilege  to  be  a  "relator  temporis  aeti." 
The  providence  of  Cod  watched  over  the  work  of  its  early 
founders,  and  will,  I  trust,  still  continue  its  beneficent  mission. 
We  are  refreshed  by  quaffing  the  sparkling  water  in  the  clear 
fountain  at  the  source  of  the  stream.  May  I  venture  to  hope 
that  in  a  measure  at  least  we  have  been  so  refreshed  to-night. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  MINNESOTA  DURING  THE 
TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.* 


BY  HON.  CHARLES  E.  FLANDRAU. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  have  always  supposed  that  the 
legitimate  province  of  a  historical  society  is  to  record  and 
preserve  past  and  current  history;  and,  so  believing,  I  feel  as 
if  I  were  perpetrating  a  wrong  in  offering  to  you  this  evening 
the  collection  of  anecdotes,  jokes,  and  frivolous  sayings  and 
doings  that  I  have  strung  together  in  this  paper.  My  only  ex- 
cuse is,  that  it  was  not  originally  prepared  for  this  dignified 
body,  but  for  the  amusement  of  a  much  lighter  audience,  and 
that  it  does  contain  some  matters  relating  to  our  early  days, 
although  of  a  character  that  can  hardly  be  brought  under 
the  designation  of  history.  I  never  made  any  pretense  to  be- 
ing a  historian;  but  much  is  expected  of  a  western  man,  and 
he  is  never  justified  in  declining  to  do  anything  that  the  emer- 
gencies of  the  situation  demand  of  him.  To  give  you  an  illus- 
tration of  what  appalling  straits  he  is  sometimes  driven  to: 
Once,  in  the  very  early  dawn  of  civilization  on  our  frontier,  I 
had  the  hardihood  to  get  up  a  thanksgiving  celebration,  the 
principal  part  of  the  programme  being  a  sermon  from  a  neigh- 
boring missionary.  For  some  reason,  he  failed  to  put  in  an 
appearance,  and  I  was  compelled  to  do  the  preaching  myself. 
As  my  audience  was  easily  imposed  upon  in  the  article  of 
sermons,  I  succeeded  quite  creditably. 


PECULIAR  EARLY  IMMIGRANTS. 


I  thought  at  first  of  chatting  about  the  early  days  of  St. 
Paul,  and  relating  some  of  the  many  anecdotes  which  exist 
about  our  pioneer  residents;  but,  on  reflection,  recalling  what 


*Read  before  the  Society,  April  25,  1898. 


198  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

my  old  Mend,  Joe  Rolette,  once  said,  "If  these  old  settlers  ever 
collide  with  me,  I'll  write  a  book,"  I  deemed  it  delicate  ground 
to  tread  upon,  although  extremely  fertile  in  fun  and  amusing 
incidents,  as  we  had  a  most  curious  agglomeration  of  interest- 
ing characters  here  in  the  early  times.  I  may,  however,  men- 
tion some  without  treading  on  any  one's  toes. 

There  was  a  Scotch  gentleman  here,  whom  I  knew  very 
well,  who  seemed  to  have  plenty  of  means  to  gratify  all  his 
whims.  He  had  the  reputation  of  having  once  been  a  minister 
of  the  gospel, — what  he  was  doing  here  no  one  seemed  to 
know  definitely, — and,  as  was  usual  in  those  days,  no  one 
cared  very  much.  After  living  here  some  time  he  conceived 
the  idea  of  going  over  to  the  Pacific  country  by  way  of  British 
Columbia;  his  objective  point  may  have  been  the  Fraser  river 
gold  diggings,  but  I  forget.  He  fitted  out  a  party,  and  when 
in  the  wilds  of  the  north  country  he  became  frozen  in  and  was 
compelled  to  spend  a  long  winter  in  camp;  provisions  soon 
gave  out  and  the  party  were  compelled  to  eat  their  pack 
animals  for  support.  My  friend  selected  a  fat  young  mule  for 
his  especial  eating,  and  allowed  no  one  to  share  it  with  him. 
In  the  course  of  the  winter  he  consumed  the  whole  animal. 
He  preserved  one  of  its  dainty  hoofs,  and  when  he  got  back 
to  civilization  he  had  it  beautifully  polished  and  a  silver  shoe 
put  on  it,  and  always  at  his  meals  he  placed  it  by  the  side  of 
his  plate.  People  thought  it  was  a  salt  cellar,  or  some  article 
of  table  furniture,  but  when  asked  by  some  one  what  part  it 
played  in  his  menu,  he  would  relate  his  adventure  and  say, 
that  he  had  eaten  so  many  awfully  bad  dinners  out  of  that 
mule  that  he  always  kept  its  hoof  near  by  to  remind  him  of 
them  so  that  his  present  dinners  might  be  improved  by  con- 
trast. 

He  was  very  fond  of  sherry,  and  could  not  get  just  what 
he  wanted  here,  so  he  sent  to  London  and  imported  an  im- 
mense hogshead  of  the  best  he  could  purchase.  He  decanted 
it  into  large  demijohns,  and  placed  them  all  around  his  room. 
He  then  went  to  bed  and  never  left  it  until  we  carried  him  out 
feet  foremost.  I  did  my  best  to  avert  this  calamity,  but  my 
powers  of  absorption  were  too  limited  to  get  away  with  the 
sherry  in  time. 

The  original  population  of  all  this  country  was  of  course 
the  Indians.    The  next  people  to  arrive  were  the  whites,  who 


REMINISCENCES  OP  THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.  199 

were  either  traders  or  soldiers,  and  in  referring  to  the  inhab- 
itants they  were  always  designated  either  as  white  men  or 
Indians.  At  quite  an  early  period  an  officer  of  the  army  from 
the  South  was  stationed  at  Mackinac,  or  some  other  north- 
western post,  and  brought  with  him  two  black  servants, 
George  and  Jack  Bonga.  When  he  was  ordered  away,  these 
two  men  remained  behind  and  took  service  in  the  American 
Fur  Company  as  voyageurs.  They  married  into  the  Chippewa 
tribe,  and  George  became  quite  a  prominent  trader  and  a  man 
of  wealth  and  consequence.  I  was  his  guest  for  two  weeks 
at  Leech  lake  just  forty-two  years  ago,  when  I  made  a  canoe 
voyage  to  the  source  of  the  Mississippi.  He  was  a  thorough 
gentleman  in  both  feeling  and  deportment,  and  was  very 
anxious  to  contribute  to  my  pleasure  during  my  stay  with 
him.  He  loved  to  dwell  upon  the  grandeur  of  the  chief  factors 
of  the  old  Fur  Company,  and,  to  show  me  how  royally  they 
travelled,  he  got  up  an  excursion  on  the  lake,  in  a  splendid 
birch  bark  canoe,  manned  by  twelve  men  who  paddled  to  the 
music  of  a  French  Canadian  boat  song,  led  by  himself.  George 
was  very  popular  with  the  whites,  and  loved  to  relate  to  the 
newcomers  his  adventures.  He  was  about  the  blackest  man 
I  ever  saw,  so  black  that  his  skin  fairly  glistened,  but  was, 
excepting  his  brother  Jack,  the  only  black  person  in  the  coun- 
try. Never  having  heard  of  any  distinction  between  the  peo- 
ple but  that  of  Indians  and  white  men,  he  would  frequently 
paralyze  his  hearers  when  reminiscing  by  saying,  "Gentlemen, 
I  assure  you  that  John  Banfil  and  myself  were  the  first  two 
white  men  that  ever  came  into  this  country.7' 

CELEBRATION    OP    NEW   YEAR'S  DAY. 

I  am  rather  inclined  to  think  that  in  the  early  days  we  had 
a  good  deal  more  fun  than  we  do  now,  but  perhaps  our  pleas- 
ures wTere  not  curbed  with  the  same  bit  as  they  are  at  present. 
The  early  settlers  brought  out  with  them  the  old  fashioned 
way  of  celebrating  New  Year's  day,  and  when  that  event  oc- 
curred, the  whole  town  was  alive  with  sport.  Everybody 
kept  open  house  and  expected  everybody  else  to  call  and  see 
them.  No  vehicle  that  could  carry  a  party  was  allowed  to 
remain  idle,  and  from  morning  until  late  in  the  night  the  entire 
male  population  was  on  the  move.  The  principal  houses  were 
those  of  the  Bamseys,  the  Gormans,  the  Borups,  the  Oakeses, 


200  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  Warrens,  the  Coxes,  the  Robertsons,  and  the  Rices.  The 
Reverend  Dr.  Andrew  Bell  Paterson,  rector  of  St.  Paul's 
Church,  lived  out  where  Hamm's  brewery  now  stands.  Mrs. 
Goodhue,  widow  of  Minnesota's  first  editor,  lived  on  the  West 
side,  about  opposite  the  foot  of  Jackson  street,  and  there  were 
many  others  well  worthy  of  mention  who  now  escape  me.  We 
also  had  Fort  Snelling,  with  its  Old  School  Army  officers, 
famous  for  their  courtesy  and  hospitality,  and  the  delightful 
household  of  Franklin  Steele,  the  sutler;  and  there  was  Henry 
H.  Sibley,  at  Mendota,  to  whom  the  finest  amenities  of  life 
were  a  creed:  all  of  whom  assisted  on  New  Year's  day.  There 
was  great  strife  among  the  entertainers  as  to  who  should  have 
the  most  elaborate  spread,  and  the  most  brilliant  and  attract- 
ive array  of  young  ladies  to  greet  the  guests.  A  register  of 
the  callers  was  always  kept,  and  great  was  the  victory  of  the 
hostess  who  recorded  the  greatest  number. 

My  first  New  Year's  day  in  St  Paul  was  in  January,  1854, 
forty-four  years  ago;  it  was  my  entree  to  St.  Paul  society. 
Four  of  us,  all  young  frisky  fellows,  started  out  together  with 
a  good  team  and  made  one  hundred  and  fifty  calls  by  mid- 
night The  party  was  composed  of  Mr.  Henry  L.  Moss,  Horace 
R.  Bigelow,  who  was  my  old  partner,  Mr.  Charles  H.  Mix, 
and  myself.  Whether  we  drank  at  every  fountain  that  gushed 
for  us  on  that  day,  I  will  leave  to  the  imagination,  after  say- 
ing that  only  the  most  delightful  impressions  of  the  event 
linger  in  my  memory.  The  custom  died  out  only  a  dozen 
years  ago. 

While  speaking  of  New  Year's  day,  I  must  not  forget  my 
first  New  Year's  day  among  the  Indians.  It  was  in  1857.  The 
Sioux  know  the  day  and  celebrate  it.  How  they  discovered 
it  I  am  unable  to  say,  but  probably  they  learned  it  from  the 
French  missionaries.  They  call  it  "Kissing  day."  I  was  the 
United  States  Agent  for  the  Sioux,  and  was  detained  up  at 
the  Yellow  Medicine  river  for  some  reason,  I  forget  what.  I 
was  informed  that  it  would  be  expected  of  me  to  give  all  the 
women  who  happened  to  be  about  the  Agency  a  present.  So 
I  had  several  barrels  of  gingerbread  baked,  and  purchased 
many  bolts  of  calico,  which  I  had  cut  up  into  dress  pieces, 
ready  for  delivery.  About  ten  in  the  forenoon  the  squaws  be- 
gan to  assemble  near  the  Agency,  and  I  seated  myself  in 
the  main  room  to  await  events.    At  first  they  were  shy  (I  was 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.  201 

not  the  grizzly  old  fellow  then  that  I  am  now).  Soon  an  old 
wa-kon-ka  came  sidling  np  like  a  crab,  and  gave  me  a  kiss; 
then  came  another,  and  another,  until,  young  and  old,  I  had 
kissed  and  been  kissed  by  forty-eight  squaws.  I  kept  an  ex- 
act tally,  especially  of  the  young  and  pretty  ones.  They  all 
got  their  gingerbread  and  dresses,  and  went  away  very  happy; 
whether  their  joy  rested  wholly  on  the  cakes  and  calico,  I 
never  was  exactly  satisfied  in  my  own  mind.  So  you  see  the 
civilized  and  the  savage  do  not  differ  very  much  in  their  meth- 
ods of  a*nusing  themselves.  It  is  a  serious  question  whether 
modern  innovations  will  be  an  improvement  over  the  past  in 
such  matters. 

EARLY    SOCIAL    CONDITIONS. 

St.  Paul  from  its  earliest  settlement  was  a  social  phenom- 
enon. Our  ideas  of  a  frontier  Mississippi  river  town  of  forty 
years  ago,  naturally  suggest  everything  but  culture,  refine- 
ment and  elegance;  yet  St.  Paul  possessed  them  all  in  a  very 
marked  degree.  By  a  singularly  happy  combination  of  cir- 
cumstances, differing  absolutely  from  all  other  remote 
frontier  towns  that  I  know  of,  the  earliest  settlers,  who  gave 
the  place  its  social  tone  and  character,  were  cultivated  gentle- 
men and  ladies.  Dr.  Borup  was  a  Dane;  he  was  a  fine  musi- 
cian; he  had  a  charming  family;  he  erected  a  spacious  and, 
for  that  day,  elegant  mansion,  and  entertained  profusely.  I 
have  attended  musical  soirees  at  his  house,  led  by  himself 
with  the  violin,  accompanied  by  two  grand  pianos  played  by 
members  of  his  family. 

Mr.  William  Sitgreaves  Cox,  an  old  navy  officer,  was  a 
charming  gentleman,  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing, cultivated  and  refined  families  it  was  ever  my  good  fortune 
to  become  acquainted  with.  One  of  his  daughters,  Miss  Hitty, 
was  so  accomplished  a  musician,  that  it  was  said  she  never 
played  anything  but  music  of  her  own  composition.  Another 
daughter,  Mrs.  Pope,  who  presided  in  his  household,  used  to 
entertain  the  friends  of  the  family  at  grand  dinners  and  petits 
soupers,  that  would  have  made  the  habitues  of  Washington 
and  Newport  green  with  envy. 

Mr.  John  E.  Warren,  and  his  brilliant  and  beautiful  wife, 
maintained  an  establishment,  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  which 
was  a  liberal  education,  and  a  joy  forever.     The  mere  recol- 


2Q2  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

lection  of  her  fascinating  conversation  and  sparkling  wit  is 
enough  to  make  an  old  fellow  young  again.  Governor  Ram- 
sey, and  his  hospitable  and  beautiful  wife,  were  always  a  cen- 
ter of  social  eminence,  as  were  also  Col.  Robertson,  Judge 
Emmett,  and  their  accomplished  wives.  I  merely  mention 
these  names  as  types  of  a  great  many  delightful  families  that 
adorned  our  city  in  its  infancy,  and  impressed  upon  it  the  in- 
delible stamp  of  cosmopolitan  excellence. 

Besides  these  superior  domestic  nuclei,  we  had  a  host  of 
single  gentlemen,  young  and  old,  who  would  have  adorned  the 
society  of  any  city.  Of  course  we  were  not  lacking  in  the 
rough  and  vicious  element,  but  it  never  dominated  to  the  ex- 
tent of  giving  color  to  our  society. 

There  is  one  circumstance  which  has  always  impressed  me 
with  the  idea  that  Minnesota,  and  especially  St.  Paul,  the 
capital,  was  favored  with  an  exceptionally  intelligent  popu- 
lation in  its  infancy;  and  that  is,  that  at  the  very  first  session 
of  the  Territorial  Legislature,  in  1849,  provision  was  made  for 
the  establishment  of  a  Historical  Society,  an  institution  which 
one  would  think  would  be  most  remote  from  the  thoughts  of 
a  border  people,  whose  interests  usually  center  in  peltries, 
ores,  and  lumber.  Yet  it  was  accomplished,  and  has  grown 
from  the  germ  then  planted  into  a  repository  of  historical 
knowledge  scarcely  equalled  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  which 
is  stored  away  in  a  library  of  nearly  sixty  thousand  volumes. 

Most  western  towns  spring  into  life  from  the  force  of 
especial  circumstances,  a  rich  deposit  of  gold,  silver,  or  coal, 
is  discovered;  extensive  forests  invite  the  lumbermen;  at 
once  a  rush  of  people  is  directed  to  the  spot,  and  a  town  is 
built.  It  has  no  antecedents  to  give  direction  to  its  social, 
moral  or  intellectual  character,  and  these  elements  must  re- 
flect the  attributes  of  its  first  inhabitants.  Mining  towns  gen- 
erally exhibit  the  lowest  and  roughest  features;  gambling, 
drinking,  and  lawlessness  predominate.  Lumber  towns  rare- 
ly present  much  refinement.  While  men  engaged  in  that  pur- 
suit may  be  estimable  and  industrious  citizens,  you  would 
not,  except  in  rare  instances,  select  them  to  fill  the  chair  of 
esthetics  in  a  school  of  sociology. 

The  marked  difference  in  favor  of  St.  Paul,  in  my  judgment, 
arises  from  the  fact  that  it  had  antecedents;  that  its  first  pop- 


REMINISCENCES  OP  THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.  203 

ulation  was  not  assembled  at  the  call  of  any  particular  enter- 
prise, and  was  therefore  not  tagged  with  any  special  trade- 
mark. It  converged  to  this  point  largely  for  the  reason  that 
it  was  the  head  of  navigation  of  the  great  Mississippi,  thus 
offering  a  reasonable  prospect  of  a  commercial  city;  that  it 
had  an  exceptionably  salubrious  climate;  and  that  its  first 
and  principal  settlers  had  previously  occupied  the  country 
and  had  been  educated  under  the  elevating  social  influences 
of  the  great  fur  companies,  whose  officers  were  the  most  aris- 
tocratic and  commanding  men  to  be  found  in  any  country. 
They  were  most  exacting  in  their  demands  of  obedience,  re- 
spect, and  loyalty  from  all  their  subordinates;  and  they  ad- 
ministered justice  in  return,  based  on  a  broad  intelligence  and 
tempered  with  generosity.  Such  initial  influences  could  not 
fail  to  make  themselves  felt  as  the  town  progressed  toward 
metropolitan  proportions,  and  they  are  still  visible.  This 
view  of  mine  may  be  without  substantial  foundation,  but  there 
is  one  thing  I  know,  that  St.  Paul  possesses  certain  social 
attractions  which  invariably  impel  people  who  have  to  leave 
the  place  with  a  desire  to  return,  no  matter  where  they  go.  I 
never  knew  an  officer  of  the  army,  who  had  been  stationed 
here,  that  did  not  want  to  remain,  and,  if  compelled  to  leave, 
did  not  wish  to  return,  and  such  seems  to  be  the  universal 
sentiment.  You  think  it  over,  and  if  you  discover  a  better 
reason  for  the  social  superiority  of  St.  Paul  over  the  average 
western  town,  let  me  know  what  it  is. 

While  I  am  speaking  of  the  remarkable  culture  and  refine- 
ment of  St.  Paul  in  its  early  days,  I  ought  to  mention  that  we 
had  a  number  of  gentlemen  here  who  were  extraordinary  chess 
players  and  very  early  formed  a  chess  club.  Judge  Palmer 
was  at  the  head  of  it.  He  was  a  second  Paul  Morphy  in  skill 
at  the  game.  He  could  turn  his  back,  shut  his  eyes,  and  play 
three  or  four  games  at  the  same  time  without  seeing  either 
the  board  or  the  men,  and  generally  win  them.  You  must 
remember  that  chess  is  a  very  scientific  game,  and  is  not  in- 
dulged in  by  cowboys  or  frontiersmen  as  a  general  thing. 

Very  soon  after  St  Paul  began  to  assume  city  proportions, 
a  little  town  down  the  river  by  the  name  of  Hastings  began 
to  appear  in  evidence.  I  don't  believe  many  of  you  know 
the  origin  of  its  name.     It  was  called  after  General  Henry 


204  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Hastings  Sibley,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  its  chief  sponsor 
did  much  to  attract  to  it  some  very  cultivated  people,  includ- 
ing some  good  chess  players,  among  whom  a  Maryland  gentle- 
man named  Allison  was  the  leader.  As  soon  as  acquaintance- 
ship was  established  between  the  two  towns,  a  chess  club  was 
formed  in  Hastings,  and  games  used  to  be  played  between  the 
two  places  by  mail,  each  move  being  fully  discussed  by  the 
club  making  it,  over  a  good  champagne  supper.  These  games 
sometimes  lasted  a  whole  winter,  as  mails  wrere  only  semi- 
occasional.  It  is  a  rare  thing  to  find  towns  situate  on  the 
very  border  of  civilization,  amusing  themselves  in  such  an 
esthetic  manner. 

PIONEER  MISSIONARIES. 

It  may  not  be  inappropriate  on  this  occasion  to  refer  to 
the  early  struggles  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Minnesota.  As 
has  ever  been  the  case  in  the  Northwest,  the  French  Catholic 
missionaries  were  first  in  the  field.  They  labored  with  the 
Indians  for  long  years  with  their  accustomed  fidelity  and  self- 
sacrifice,  and  I  have  no  doubt  did  as  much  good  as  missionaries 
usually  accomplish  among  savages.  From  their  somber  cos- 
tume the  Sioux  called  them  she-na-sapa  (the  black  blankets). 

About  sixty  years  ago,  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  - 
Missions  sent  out  Protestant  missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian 
faith,  who  selected  stations  at  Traverse  des  Sioux,  Lac  qui 
Parle,  Lake  Winnibigoshish,  and  perhaps  other  points.  They 
labored  faithfully  among  the  Sioux  and  Chippewas  until  the 
outbreak  of  the  Sioux  in  1862,  which  practically  dispersed  the 
Sioux  and  Winnebagoes  and  drove  them  out  of  the  state. 
When  the  whites  began  to  inhabit  the  state  in  1846,  and  after- 
ward, of  course  they  were  accompanied  by  their  ministers  of 
all  denominations,  and  they  established  churches  in  all  the 
settlements ;  but  the  Episcopalians  were  the  weakest  of  them 
all.  The  first  churches  of  that  denomination  were  established 
in  St.  Paul  and  St.  Anthony  in  the  early  fifties.  The  one  in 
St.  Paul  was  known  as  Christ  Church,  and  had  a  very  small 
frame  structure  on  Cedar  street,  exactly  in  the  rear  of  the 
present  Globe  Building,  and  on  the  spot  where  now  stands  the 
rear  part  of  H.  M.  Smyth's  printing  house.     The  church  boast- 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.  205 

ed  a  steeple,  but  it  was  so  ridiculously  small  that  the  irrever- 
ent dubbed  the  whole  structure  "The  church  of  the  holy  tooth- 
pick.'7 

Minnesota  was  then  part  of  the  diocese  of  Wisconsin,  wThich 
was  presided  over  by  Bishop  Kemper,  the  missionary  bishop 
of  the  Northwest,  and  one  of  the  dearest  and  best  old  men 
it  was  ever  my  good  fortune  to  meet.  He  used  to  make  occa- 
sional visits  into  Minnesota,  and  perform  the  functions  of  his 
sacred  office  wherever  they  were  needed.  His  services  were 
usually  held  in  the  shanty  of  some  settler,  and  the  people 
would  flock  to  see  and  hear  him  very  much  as  they  would  have 
attended  any  unusual  show.  You  must  remember  that  Epis- 
copalians were  not  an  emigrating  people,  and  are  generally 
the  denizens  of  cities,  so  that  his  vestments  were  a  very  un- 
usual sight  on  the  border. 

The  first  time  I  heard  him  he  preached  in  the  unfinished 
kitchen  of  Captain  Dodd's  shack  in  St.  Peter,  and  his  audience 
was  squatted  on  the  floor.  I  remember  distinctly  having  put 
on  my  Sunday  moccasins,  all  ornamented  with  bead  and  quill 
work,  for  the  important  occasion. 

The  real  pioneers  of  the  missionary  work  of  the  Episcopal 
church  in  Minnesota  were  Rev.  James  Lloyd  Breck  and  Rev. 
Timothy  Wilcoxson.  They  preceded  all  the  others.  Mr. 
Breck  purchased  five  or  six  acres  of  land  at  the  head  of  St. 
Peter  street  and  established  a  mission  house,  which  was  oc- 
cupied for  a  long  time.  The  Park  Place  Hotel  afterward 
stood  on  this  ground,  and  I  believe  the  land  still  belongs  to 
the  Diocese  of  Minnesota. 

Mr.  Breck  was  a  very  enthusiastic  man  in  his  church  work. 
He  was  young  and  physically  capable  of  much  endurance.  It 
was  a  common  thing  for  him  to  have  an  engagement  to  preach 
in  a  certain  place  on  one  day,  and  in  another  thirty  or  forty 
miles  distant  on  the  next,  and  he  always  made  the  journeys 
on  foot.  His  pedestrian  feats  became  well  known  among  the 
old  settlers.  The  first  time  I  made  a  visit  to  the  East,  after 
my  settlement  up  in  the  valley  of  the  Minnesota,  was  in  1856 
or  1857.  I  was  driving  across  tne  twenty-mile  prairie  just 
above  Fort  Snelling  on  my  way  down  the  river,  when  I  saw 
in  the  distance  a  long-legged  apparition  streaking  it  along  in 
my  direction,  swinging  a  handbag  and  making  apparently  about 


206  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

eight  miles  an  hour.  In  the  loom  of  the  prairie  it  resembled 
very  much  a  large  sandhill  crane,  which  we  used  to  encounter 
frequently  on  our  journeys  in  those  days,  but  when  we  met  it 
turned  out  to  be  the  Reverend  Mr.  Breck  on  his  way  to  Shako- 
pee  to  preach  the  next  day.  We  always  stopped  and  had  a 
chat  with  all  passers-by  on  the  road.  Knowing  the  habits  of 
the  parson  as  well  as  I  did,  I  of  course  thought  nothing  of  it. 

When  I  got  home  in  the  East,  I  was  invited  to  attend  a 
missionary  meeting  in  Utica  by  a  clerical  friend  of  mine,  who 
wanted  me  to  tell  the  people  there  something  about  the  church 
in  the  Northwest.  I  went,  and  the  first  business  that  came 
before  the  meeting  was  a  collection  to  raise  a  fund  to  purchase 
a  horse  and  buggy  for  Mr.  Breck.  The  mover  of  the  scheme 
spoke  of  his  wonderful  feats  of  pedestrianism,  and  insisted 
that  he  should  be  rewarded  by  being  presented  with  better 
means  of  transportation.  That  was  my  opportunity:  I  told 
my  story  of  how  I  had  met  him  within  a  few  days  on  the  lonely 
prairie,  which  I  extended  from  twenty  miles  to  about  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty,  and  how  footing  it  across  a  continent  was 
a  mere  pleasant  recreation  for  him;  in  fact  I  allowed  my  then 
fruitful  imagination  full  swing,  with  the  satisfactory  result 
of  swelling  the  donation  to  a  sum  that  would  have  easily 
bought  him  a  coach  and  four,  and  I  have  never  repented  the 
well  intended  exaggeration.  Mr.  Breck  never  went  on  foot 
afterward. 

The  estimation  in  which  the  memory  of  Mr.  Breck  is  held 
at  the  present  time  in  the  church,  may  be  measured  by  the 
fact  that  there  prevailed  a  fierce  controversy  as  to  whether 
California  or  Wisconsin,  where  he  was  earlier  a  pioneer  mis- 
sionary, should  be  the  repository  of  his  remains. 

Doctor  Van  Ingen  and  Dr.  Paterson  arrived  in  the  fifties; 
the  former  came  first,  and  the  latter  about  1857.  About  this 
time  the  question  was  mooted  of  erecting  Minnesota  into  a 
separate  diocese,  and  it  was  accomplished.  Then  came  the  ex- 
citing consideration  of  who  should  be  the  bishop.  Naturally 
Doctors  Van  Ingen  and  Paterson  were  the  prominent  candi- 
dates. The  convention  was  held  in  St.  Paul  in  1859,  and  after 
many  ineffectual  ballots  had  been  taken  it  seemed  impossible 
to  elect  either  of  these  two  gentlemen.  At  every  ballot  a  vote 
was  cast  for  Henry  B.  Whipple  of  Chicago.    No  one  knew 


REMINISCENCES  OP  THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.  207 

wlio  he  was,  except  that  he  was  the  rector  of  a  church  in  that 
city.  When  it  became  a  certainty  that  the  vote  could  not  be 
concentrated  on  either  Van  Ingen  or  Paterson,  the  friends  of 
these  candidates  began  to  inquire  about  the  "dark  horse," 
and  the  glowing  account  of  him  given  by  his  friend  settled 
the  matter  in  his  favor  and  he  was  chosen. 

I  have  known  Bishop  Whipple  for  forty-five  years.  I 
knew  him  in  Eome,  New  York,  before  he  went  to  Chicago,  and 
have  loved  and  revered  him  during  all  those  long  years.  It 
would  be  a  waste  of  words  for  me  to  attempt  a  portrayal  of 
his  many  virtues  and  perfect  equipment  for  the  duties  of  a 
frontier  bishop;  in  all  such  accomplishments  he  was  unsur- 
passed. He  assumed  his  office,  and  the  church  began  to  grow 
and  expand  with  marvelous  strides  until  it  has  filled  the  land. 
He  has  spread  the  fame  of  Minnesota  over  the  mother  coun- 
try of  England,  until  his  name,  and  that  of  his  state,  have 
become  household  words  in  the  churches  of  that  land.  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  to-day  he  is  the  most  popular 
and  best  beloved  man  in  all  the  state  of  Minnesota. 

I  can  tell  you  an  amusing  anecdote  about  him  that  proves 
my  assertion.  Many  years  ago  there  lived  in  the  town  of  Le 
Sueur  a  man,  a  great  friend  of  mine,  by  the  name  of  Bill  Smith. 
Bill  was  an  uncompromising  Democrat  like  myself,  and  had  the 
reputation  of  being  a  pretty  blunt  and  rough  sort  of  a  fellow; 
at  the  same  time  he  was  one  of  the  best  citizens  in  the  Min- 
nesota valley.  He  lived  next  door  to  a  brick  edifice  used  as 
a  church  by  the  Presbyterians,  with  only  a  picket  fence  be- 
tween them.  The  people  attending  the  church  were  in  the 
habit  of  hitching  their  horses  to  his  fence,  and  during  services 
the  horses  would  nibble  the  heads  off  of  his  pickets.  Bill 
gave  strict  orders  to  his  son  to  cut  the  halters  of  any  teams 
that  should  be  hitched  to  the  fence.  Bishop  Whipple  had 
some  work  in  the  town,  and  the  Presbyterians  kindly  allowed 
him  to  use  their  church.  Not  knowing  of  the  decree  that 
had  been  promulgated  by  the  infuriated  Smith,  the  driver 
hitched  the  Bishop's  team  to  the  prohibited  fence.  The  boy 
came  in  and  said,  "Dad,  some  of  them  church  fellows  have 
hitched  to  our  fence."  "Go  and  cut  their  bridles,"  said  Smith. 
"It's  Bishop  Whipple's  team,"  said  the  boy.  "Oh,"  said  Smith, 
"that's  another  matter,  Bishop  Whipple  is  the  only  man  in 


208  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

this  state  who  can  hitch  his  team  to  my  fence,  and  if  he 
wants  to  he  can  stable  them  in  my  parlor." 

The  Bishop  is  peculiarly  happy  in  attaching  all  kinds  of 
people  to  him,  good  and  bad,  high  and  low.  I  remember  when 
the  Indian  War  broke  out,  in  1862,  I  brought  out  of  New  Ulm 
about  eighty  badly  wounded  men,  and  distributed  them  be- 
tween Mankato  and  St.  Peter,  turning  all  the  hotels  and  public 
buildings  into  hospitals  for  their  convenience.  A  few  days 
after  their  arrival,  the  bishop  appeared  at  St.  Peter  unsolicit- 
ed. He  brought  with  him  his  dressing  gown  and  slippers, 
and  a  case  of  surgical  instruments,  and  camped  down  among 
us,  where  he  remained  for  weeks,  assisting  the  wounded  and 
praying  with  the  dying.  That  is  the  kind  of  work  that  endears 
a  man  to  the  people. 

You  all  know  that  the  Bishop  has  always  been  a  great 
friend  of  the  Indians.  He  believes  that  the  Christian  Indians, 
as  he  calls  those  who  have  shown  some  signs  of  recognition  of 
the  faith,  performed  a  great  many  friendly  acts  towards  the 
whites  at  the  time  of  the  massacre  of  1862,  and  he  loves  to 
tell  of  it.  When  we  all  went  up  to  dedicate  the  Birch  Coulie 
Monument,  Governor  Marshall  made  a  speech  to  prove  that 
the  inscription  on  the  monument  was  all  wrong.  Then  I  fol- 
lowed, and,  for  complimenting  the  men  who  held  the  Indians 
off  at  the  Birch  Coulie  fight,  I  dwelt  on  the  splendid  fighting 
qualities  of  the  Sioux.  Then  the  Bishop  gave  me  a  nudge  and 
said,  "I  would  give  ten  dollars  for  a  five-minute  talk."  I  told 
the  presiding  officer  to  call  upon  him,  and  he  exhausted  his 
time  by  saying  all  the  good  things  he  knewT  about  the  Indians. 
Then  an  irate  party  who  came  to  hear  the  Indians  denounced 
as  murderers,  red  devils,  and  everything  that  was  bad,  rose  and 
said,  "We  came  here  to  dedicate  a  monument  that  commem- 
orates one  of  the  most  barbarous  and  savage  massacres  of  our 
people  that  was  ever  perpetrated,  and  what  have  we  had?  an 
attack  upon  the  monument,  and  two  glowing  eulogies  of  the 
savage  murderers."  The  bishop  and  I  had  a  good  laugh  over 
the  predicament  we  had  got  the  ceremonies  into. 

Speaking  of  the  church:  Shortly  after  Dr.  Van  Ingen 
came  to  St.  Paul,  I  came  down,  in  1856,  to  the  legislature  as 
a  representative  from  the  Indian  country.  One  of  the  first 
things  we  had  to  do  was  to  elect  a  chaplain.     I  was  not  ac- 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.  209 

quainted  with  any  of  he  candidates,  and  Dr.  Van  Ingen  was 
nominated.  His  name  was  pronounced  nearly  like  "Indian," 
by  the  member  wlio  made  the  nomination.  I  bad  on  mocca- 
sins, and  on  hearing  the  name,  I  said,  "Ingen,  Ingen,  that's 
my  man,"  and  we  elected  him.  A  very  prominent  young 
lawyer  in  St  Paul  is  named  for  him,  John  Van  Ingen  Dodd, 
wThose  mother  was  a  prominent  church  woman. 

TERRITORIAL  POLITICS. 

I  have  not  said  anything  about  the  politics  of  the  early 
days  of  Minnesota,  and  the  reason  is  that  there  was  very 
little  going  on  that  was  worthy  of  the  name  until  the  first 
state  election,  which  occurred  on  the  13th  day  of  October, 
1857.  Prior  to  that,  politics  was  either  personal,  Indian,  or 
missionary. 

The  first  attempt  at  politics  in  Minnesota  occurred  in  Wis- 
consin, if  I  may  use  a  paradox.  That  state  was  admitted  into 
the  Union  in  1848,  leaving  all  the  territory  west  of  the  St. 
Croix  without  any  government.  Our  people  called  a  con- 
vention at  Stillwater,  and  settled  the  affairs  of  the  prospective 
new  territory  to  be  created  out  of  the  discarded  part  of  Wis- 
consin. They  assigned  the  capitol  to  St.  Paul,  the  university 
to  St,  Anthony,  the  penitentiary  to  Stillwater,  and  the  dele- 
gate in  Congress  to  Mendota,  then  called  St.  Peter's.  Henry 
H.  Sibley  was  duly  chosen  delegate  from  Wisconsin,  and  the 
act  organizing  the  territory  of  Minnesota  was  passed  by  Con- 
gress on  the  3rd  of  March,  1849. 

Nothing  occurred  in  the  politics  of  the  territory  particular- 
ly worthy  of  mention  in  a  paper  like  this,  except,  perhaps, 
that  the  legislature  once,  in  a  spasm  of  frontier  virtue,  passed 
a  prohibitory  liquor  law,  which  was  in  a  counter  spasm  speed- 
ily declared  unconstitutional  by  the  courts;  but  when  the  first 
state  election  was  held,  in  which  we  were  to  elect  members 
of  Congress  and  a  legislature  that  was  to  choose  United  States 
senators,  things  took  a  more  national  aspect,  and  politics 
really  began.  The  Democrats  had  always  been  in  power  in 
the  territory,  and  of  course  desired  to  hold  that  dominant 
position;  but  the  Republican  party,  having  been  born  three 
years  before,  had  grown  to  considerable  proportions.  The 
whole  state  organization  was  to  be  elected,  from  the  governor 
down;  so  the  fight  became  quite  interesting. 
14 


210  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

A  POLITICAL.  EPISODE. 

With  this  introduction,  I  will  relate  an  episode  which  oc- 
curred a  week  or  so  after  the  first  state  election  closed.  You 
must  know  that  Pembina  had,  from  the  earliest  days  of  the 
territory,  been  an  election  district,  and  being  so  remote  from 
the  seat  of  government,  the  election  there  was  held  before  the 
time  fixed  in  other  parts  of  the  Territory  to  enable  it  to  get 
its  election  returns  to  the  Territorial  Auditor  in  St.  Paul. 
This  circumstance  gave  rise  to  the  saying  that  Pembina  al- 
ways waited,  in  making  its  returns,  to  find  out  how  many 
votes  were  necessary  to  carry  the  election  for  the  Democrats, 
and  then  sent  in  the  needed  number.  Of  course,  this  was  a 
Kepublican  slander,  but  it  was  generally  believed,  as  Pembina 
was  then  a  terra  incognita  to  everybody  but  Joe  Rolette,  Nor- 
man W.  Kittson,  and  a  few  others  who  had  Indian  interests 
in  that  region.  When  all  the  votes  but  those  of  Pembina 
were  in,  it  looked  as  if  the  result  of  the  election  was  quite 
close,  and  all  eyes  were  on  Pembina.  It  was  supposed  that 
Joe  Rolette  would  be  the  bearer  of  the  returns,  and  great  in- 
terest was  manifested  by  the  Democrats  lest  Rolette  should 
fall  by  the  wayside  and  the  returns  be  lost,  as  we  all  knew 
that  Joe  was  very  susceptible  to  the  allurements  and  tempta- 
tions of  civilization  when  within  its  influence. 

While  this  important  matter  was  in  suspense,  a  man  in 
the  Indian  trade  by  the  name  of  Madison  Sweetser  came  to  me 
about  two  o'clock  one  night,  or  rather  morning,  and  told  me 
that  Nat  Tyson,  who  was  a  merchant  in  St.  Paul  and  an  en- 
thusiastic Republican,  had  just  started  for  the  north  with  a 
fast  team  and  an  outfit  that  looked  as  if  he  contemplated  a 
long  journey,  and  his  belief  was  that  he  meant  to  capture 
Rolette  and  the  Pembina  returns.  I  felt  that  such  might  be 
the  case,  and  we  immediately  began  to  devise  ways  and  means 
to  circumvent  him.  We  hastened  to  the  house  of  Henry  M. 
Rice,  who  knew  every  trader  and  half-breed  between  here  and 
Pembina,  and  laid  our  suspicions  before  him.  He  diagnosed 
the  case  in  an  instant,  and  sent  us  to  Norman  W.  Kittson, 
who  lived  in  a  stone  house  well  up  on  Jackson  street,  with  in- 
structions to  him  to  send  a  mounted  courier  after  Tyson,  who 
was  to  pass  him  on  the  road  and  either  find  Rolette  or  Major 
Clitherall,  who  was  an  Alabama  man  and  one  of  the  United 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.  211 

States  land  officers  in  the  neighborhood  of  Crow  Wing,  being, 
of  course,  a  reliable  Democrat,  and  was  to  deliver  a  letter  to  the 
one  he  first  found,  putting  him  on  guard  against  the  supposed 
enemy.  I  prepared  the  letter  and  Kittson  in  a  few  moments 
had  summoned  a  reliable  Chippewa  half-breed,  mounted  him 
on  a  fine  horse,  fully  explained  his  mission,  and  impressed 
upon  him  that  he  was  to  reach  Clitherall  or  Rolette  ahead  of 
Tyson  if  he  had  to  kill  a  dozen  horses  in  so  doing.  There  was 
nothing  a  fine,  active,  young  half-breed  enjoyed  so  much  as 
an  adventure  of  this  kind;  a  ride  of  four  hundred  miles  had 
no  terrors  for  him,  and  to  serve  his  employer  faithfully,  no 
matter  what  the  duty  or  danger  imposed,  was  his  delight. 
When  he  was  ready  to  start,  Kittson  gave  him  a  send-off  in 
about  the  following  words:  "Yat  va  vite,  et  ne  farrete  pas 
meme  pour  sauver  la  vie"  (Go,  go  quick,  and  don't  stop  even  to 
save  your  life);  and,  giving  his  horse  a  vigorous  slap,  he  was 
off  like  the  wind. 

The  result  was  that  he  passed  Tyson  before  he  had  gone 
twenty  miles,  found  Clitherall  a  day  and  a  half  before  Tyson 
reached  Crow  Wing,  if  he  ever  did  get  there,  and  delivered 
his  letter.  The  major  immediately  started  to  find  Rolette, 
which  he  succeeded  in  doing,  took  the  returns,  put  them  in 
a  belt  around  his  person,  and,  having  relieved  Joe  of  all  his 
responsibility,  left  him  to  his  own  devices,  which  meant  paint- 
ing all  the  towns  red  that  he  visited  on  his  way. 

The  tone  of  the  letter  was  so  urgent  and  exciting  that  the 
major  did  not  know  but  that  half  the  Republicans  in  St.  Paul 
might  be  lying  in  wait  to  capture  him;  so  he  did  not  enter 
town  directly  on  his  arrival,  but  went  to  Fort  Snelling,  left 
the  returns  with  an  army  officer,  and  then  proceeded  to  St. 
Paul.  When  we  explained  to  him  that  no  one  but  Rice, 
Sweetser,  Kittson,  and  myself,  knew  anything  about  the  mat- 
ter, he  was  relieved,  but  still  cautious.  He  waited  a  few  days 
and  then  proposed  to  a  lady  to  take  a  ride  with  him  to  Fort 
Snelling.  When  they  started  home  again,  he  gave  her  a  bun- 
dle and  asked  her  to  take  care  of  it  while  he  drove,  which  she 
unsuspectingly  did;  and  that  is  the  way  the  Pembina  returns 
of  Minnesota's  first  state  election  reached  the  proper  custodian 
at  the  Capitol.  It  is  needless  to  say  how  many  votes  they 
represented,  but  only  to  announce  that  the  election  went 
Democratic. 


212  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Whether  Tyson  had  any  idea  of  doing  what  we  suspected 
him  of,  I  never  discovered,  but  if  he  did,  he  had  a  long  ride 
for  nothing;  and  as  our  scheme  wTas  so  successful,  I  am  will- 
ing to  acquit  him  of  the  charge. 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF   GEOGRAPHIC  NAMES. 

In  looking  over  the  map  of  Minnesota,  and  the  Northwest 
generally,  a  thoughtful  observer  can  read  between  the  lines 
a  good  many  things  of  interest  not  visible  on  the  exterior. 
For  instance,  the  nationality  and  religion  of  the  first  comers 
can  easily  be  determined  by  the  names  of  the  rivers  and  cities. 
All  over  Minnesota  and  what  we  generally  call  the  Northwest 
is  written  the  fact  that  the  first  innovation  made  upon  the 
Indian  was  by  the  Frenchman,  and  the  Catholic  Frenchman. 
We  here  find  St.  Paul,  St.  Anthony,  St.  Croix,  which  suggest 
the  religion.  Then  we  find  Lac  qui  Parle,  Traverse  des  Sioux, 
Trempealeau,  Pomme  de  Terre,  and  other  French  names,  in- 
dicating the  nationality.  Some  of  the  French  names  are 
original  with  them,  and  some  are  literal  translations  of  the 
Indian  names  into  French.  For  instance,  take  the  name  of 
Lac  qui  Parle,  meaning  the  lake  which  speaks,  or  the  talking 
lake.  It  got  its  name  from  the  fact  that  it  emits  a  constant 
sound  of  murmuring  or  gurgling,  which  naturally  attracted 
the  Sioux,  and  they  named  it  MJ  Day-ea,  or  the  Talking  lake, 
which  the  French  literally  translated  into  Lac  qui  Parle.  It 
was  a  very  early  post  for  the  French  traders,  and  has  main- 
tained the  French  name  very  much  in  its  purity,  the  reason 
for  which  I  attribute  to  the  difficulty  of  corrupting  it,  the 
words  being  too  simple  to  be  distorted  into  anything  else. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  Traverse  des  Sioux,  the  crossing 
of  the  Sioux,  the  Indian  name  of  which  I  have  forgotten,  but 
the  words  are  so  simple  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  pronounce 
them  incorrectly,  except  the  "des"  which  is  frequently  called 
"dess,"  as  the  name  of  the  tribe  of  Indians  called  the  Nez 
Percys,  or  Pierced  Noses,  is  frequently  pronounced  "Ness 
Percies." 

When  we  cross  over  to  the  Pacific  coast  we  find  the  un- 
mistakable handwriting  of  the  Catholic  Spaniard.  Here  we 
have  San  Francisco,  San  Jos6,  Santa  Barbara,  Santa  Cruz, 
San  Diego,  and,  farther  east,  the  river  named  Rio  Grande  del 


REMINISCENCES  OP  THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.  213 

Norte,  which  separates  us  from  Mexico,  all  of  which  bespeak 
the  Spaniard  and  the  Catholic.  In  Mexico  wre  find,  besides 
many  Spanish  names,  the  unpronounceable  names  of  the 
Aztecs,  proving  their  previous  occupancy  of  the  country. 

How  long  these  landmarks  of  the  nativity  and  religion  of 
the  early  settlers  will  remain  is  doubtful.  Some  of  them, 
like  San  Francisco,  will  endure  as  long  as  the  country  lasts 
and  is  inhabited  by  civilized  people,  for  reasons  quite  appar- 
ent. But  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  they  are  not  only  rap- 
idly disappearing,  but  that  many  of  them  have  been  twisted 
out  of  all  possible  recognition  by  the  immigration  which  suc- 
ceeded the  French  and  the  Spanish.  With  all  our  love  and 
admiration  of  the  American  pioneer,  we  must  admit  that  he 
could  not  as  a  general  thing  be  called  a  man  of  culture,  and 
especially  was  he  not  a  linguist.  In  ninety-nine  cases  out  of 
every  hundred  he  could  not  speak  his  own  language  without 
disturbing  Lindley  Murray  in  his  coffin.  So  these  French  and 
Spanish  names  stood  a  very  poor  chance  of  being  perpetuated 
in  their  purity  through  his  agency. 

I  will  now  give  you  somie  instances  of  the  utter  annihilation 
of  such  names  in  our  own  state.  There  is  a  river  in  the  south- 
ern portion  of  Minnesota  which  was  in  the  early  days  of  In- 
dian trade  navigable  for  Mackinac  boats  and  canoes,  and 
was  much  used.  The  navigation,  however,  was  difficult  and 
embarrassing,  which,  gave  it  the  name,  by  the  French  voy- 
ageur,  of  "La  Rivi&re  des  embarras,"  or  the  difficult  river. 
Now  the  voyageur  was  usually  a  half-breed  Indian;  or,  if  a 
pure  Frenchman,  he  spoke  the  Sioux  language,  which  has 
many  guttural  sounds,  and  it  tinctured  his  French.  He  usu- 
ally spoke  very  rapidly,  and  made  all  the  short  cuts  he  could 
to  the  end  he  desired.  When  speaking  of  this  river  he  always 
called  it  "Des  embarras/'  which,  spoken  quickly  with  a  gut- 
tural intonation,  gave  the  American  settler  the  word  "Zum- 
bro,"  and  thus  we  have  on  our  maps  a  Zumbro  river  and  a 
town  of  Zumbrota. 

Quite  as  curious  and  equally  as  effective  an  instance  for 
the  destruction  of  a  name  I  will  relate  in  connection  with  lake 
Superior.  Most  of  you  will  remember  the  curious  sandy  beach 
formation  at  Duluth  called  Minnesota  point.  It  is  a  long 
finger  of  land  projected  from  the  Minnesota  shore  toward  the 
Wisconsin  side,  a  distance  of  some  six  miles,  to  the  natural 


214  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

outlet  of  the  St.  Louis  river  into  tlie  lake.  It  is  composed 
entirely  of  pebbles  and  sand  thrown  up  from  the  bottom  of 
the  lake  and  held  in  place  by  the  current  of  the  St.  Louis  river 
meeting  the  wash  of  the  lake,  and  presents  a  very  curious 
and  interesting  subject  for  the  scientist.  Now,  out  in  the 
lake  somewhere,  similar  influences  threw  up  a  small  island 
of  the  same  material,  which  was  in  an  early  day  quite  danger- 
ous to  navigation.  The  French  word  for  a  pebble  of  this 
character  is  "galet."  So  the  French  called  this  island  "Isle 
aux  Galets,"  or  the  island  of  pebbles.  In  the  early  days  of 
lake  navigation  the  sailors  and  pilots  w*»re  principally  Cana- 
dian Frenchmen,  and  in  speaking  this  name  of  the  island 
quickly  it  was  caught  by  the  American  as  "Skillegallee,"  and 
it  has  actually  so  passed  into  the  United  States  charts. 

There  is  a  town  in  Wisconsin  on  the  Mississippi  river  called 
"Trempealeau."  It  derives  its  name  from  a  conical  bluff 
near  the  present  site  of  the  town,  which  in  very  high  water 
is  surrounded  by  the  river  and  becomes  an  island.  The  French 
called  it  "La  Montagne  qui  trempe  a  Peau"  (the  mountain 
which  soaks  in  the  water).  The  name  of  the  town  is  wonder- 
fully well  preserved,  very  much  better  than  in  most  cases; 
but  I  venture  the  assertion  that  not  an  inhabitant  of  it  knows 
the  origin  of  its  name,  unless  he  is  a  Frenchman. 

I  must  relate  a  little  circumstance  connected  with  this 
town  that  occurred  a  good  many  years  ago  in  the  days  of  river 
travel.  I  was  coming  up  the  river  on  a  steamboat,  and,  as 
the  day  was  fine,  I  was  sitting  on  the  hurricane  deck.  The 
boats  were  full  of  tourists  in  those  days,  all  anxious  for  in- 
formation. The  proprietors  of  the  town  had  put  up  a  large 
sign  to  attract  attention,  with  one  word,  "Trempealeau."  A 
lady  asked  the  captain  in  my  presence  what  that  meant  and 
where  it  came  from.  He  looked  wise  and  said,  "Madam,  it  is 
Winnebago."  She  was  perfectly  satisfied,  and  I  did  not  cor- 
rect the  information,  which  she  probably  recorded  in  her 
diary  and  communicated  to  her  eastern  friends.  I  have  not 
as  yet  seen  it  in  any  authentic  history,  but  will  be  not  at  all 
surprised  to  find  it  there  some  day. 

To  give  you  a  further  idea  of  the  knowledge  of  the  river 
captains  in  those  days,  I  will  relate  a  little  incident  which 
occurred  on  the  upper  Missouri  once  when  I  was  ascending 
that  stream  in  a  boat  called  the  "Twilight"    On  the  jackstaff 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.  215 

of  this  boat  was  a  flag  bearing  the  sign  of  a  crescent  moon, 
with  a  star  perched  on  one  of  its  horns.  It  was  pretty  and 
attracted  my  attention.  An  opportunity  occurred  one  night 
which  opened  the  way  to  my  asking  the  captain  the  meaning 
of  his  legend.  It  was  the  curious  coincidence  of  exactly  the 
same  sign  appearing  in  the  heavens.  I  suppose  it  was  the 
preparation  for  the  occupation  of  Venus ;  at  any  rate,  the  signs 
were  identical.  I  called  the  captain's  attention  to  it,  and 
asked  him  what  his  flag  signified.  He  carefully  scanned  the 
heavens,  studied  the  flag,  and  solemnly  announced:  "It  is 
a  sign  of  rain."  If,  under  such  educational  influences,  any- 
thing of  the  past  remains,  it  will  be  a  miracle. 

The  gentlemen  who  laid  out  the  town  of  Minneiska,  down 
the  river  in  this  state,  wrote  to  me  for  the  name  of  "White 
Water"  in  Sioux,  as  they  wished  to  name  the  town  after  the 
White  Water  river,  which  empties  into  the  Mississippi  river 
in  that  neighborhood.  I  wrote  the  name  "Minne-ska,"  white 
water.  They  mulled  over  it,  and  concluded  that  if  ever  a  rail- 
road went  through  the  town  the  brakemen  could  not  manage 
that  name  successfully,  and  called  it  by  the  more  euphonious 
name,  of  Minneiska,  which  means  nothing  at  all. 

Then  there  is  Mankato,  which  is  a  corruption  of  "Ma-ka-to," 
or  Blue  Earth. 

DESCRIPTIVE   NAMES   GIVEN   BY   THE   SIOUX. 

I  passed  several  years  among  the  Sioux  Indians  of  this 
country,  and  was  at  one  time  United  States  Indian  agent  for 
them;  so  I  naturally  picked  up  some  of  their  language,  and 
learned  their  ways  and  customs. 

An  aboriginal  people  like  these  savages  have  very  few 
wants,  and  consequently  their  language  is  very  meager  in  its 
means  of  expression.  Therefore,  when  new  obects  were  pre- 
sented to  them,  in  order  to  talk  about  them  among  themselves 
they  had  to  find  names  for  them,  and  such  names  would,  in 
the  nature  of  things,  be  descriptive.  When  they  first  saw  a 
white  man  he  was  a  Frenchman.  They  called  him  "Wa-she- 
cha,"  or  the  white  man.  The  next  appearance  of  the  white 
man  was  the  American  soldier.  The  officers  always  carried 
a  sword.  The  Indian  had  never  seen  so  long  a  knife,  and  he 
called  the  American  "Isan-tanka,"  or  the  long  knife.     After- 


216  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

ward  came  the  German.  His  language  fell  harshly  on  the 
Indian  ear,  and  they  called  him  "Ea-shee-sha,"  or  the  bad 
talker. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  illustrative  cases  of  naming  a 
person  or  thing  by  description  is  found  in  the  name  they  gave 
me.  When  I  first  went  into  the  Indian  country,  about  forty- 
four  years  ago,  I  found  a  young  Scotsman  by  the  name  of 
Garvie,  and  camped  with  him.  The  Indians  called  him  "Chun- 
ka-tokacha-wa-pa-ha,"  or  the  man  who  wears  the  wolfskin 
cap.  They  gradually  began  to  call  me  "the  tall  American," 
or  "Isan-tanka~hans-ka."  When  I  was  not  recognized  by 
that  name,  they  would  say  "Isan-tanka-hanska-ark-ho,"  which 
means  "the  tall  American  who  combs  his  hair  back;"  and  if 
that  failed  to  indicate  my  personality,  they  would  say,  "Isan- 
tanka-hanska-ark-ho,  tepee  Chunka-tokacha-wa-pa-ha,"  which 
means,  "the  tall  American  who  combs  his  hair  back,  who  lives 
with  the  man  who  wears  the  wolfskin  cap."  That  became  my 
name,  but  was  usually  shortened  to  "Ark-ho,"  he  who  combs 
his  hair  back;  and  when  I  became  their  agent,  it  was  changed 
to  "Ah-tay,"  or  father. 

You  have  heard,  no  doubt,  that  the  thoughts  of  the  wild 
Indian  sometimes  run  in  a  poetical  vein.  This  is  true,  and  I 
will  give  you  an  instance  of  it  which  is  in  line  with  the  idea 
I  am  presenting  of  the  resort  to  description  for  naming  per- 
sons and  things.  Of  course,  a  Sioux  Indian  in  his  natural 
state  never  saw  a  domestic  rooster  or  chicken  cock.  When 
immigration  began  to  crowd  them  this  splendid  bird  made  his 
appearance.  They  observed  his  noble  carriage,  his  beautiful 
plumage,  and  his  defiant  air;  but  none  of  these  characteristics 
afforded  ground  for  a  name.  They  then  discovered  that  he 
had  the  peculiarity  of  crowing  before  the  dawn  each  morning, 
and  they  gave  him  his  name  from  this  circumstance.  They 
called  him  "An-pay-ho-to-na,"  or  "the  voice  of  the  morning," 
which  may  be  rendered,  "He  speaks  in  the  morning."  I,  how- 
ever, prefer  the  former  as  containing  a  really  poetic  expres- 
sion. 

Many  such  cases  can  be  recalled.  I  will  give  you  another 
that  contains  both  the  poetic  and  descriptive  idea.  Of  course, 
before  the  advent  of  the  whites,  an  Indian  never  saw  the  re- 
flection of  his  face  in  anything  but  the  surface  of  a  lake  or 
stream.    When  he  was  presented  with  a  looking-glass  he  was 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  TERRITORIAL.  PERIOD.  217 

amazed  to  see  the  same  phenomenon  repeated.  He  called  it 
"Minne  Odessa/'  or  "It  looks  like  water."  I  know  that  this 
name  for  a  looking-glass  is  not  the  one  given  in  the  Dakota 
Dictionary.  It  is  there  called  "Ih-di-yom~da~sin;"  but  I 
learned  it,  as  I  have  given  it,  in  the  camps,  and  it  struck  me 
as  very  pretty,  so  I  propose  to  stick  to  my  original  version, 
the  dictionary  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  In  fact  I  am 
a  good  deal  like  a  big  Missouri  friend  I  had  out  in  the  Sierra 
Nevada  mountains,  by  the  name  of  Jim  Gatewood.  He  used 
to  write  his  letters  in  my  office,  and  frequently  asked  me  how 
to  spell  a  word.  I  finally  said,  "Jim,  why  don't  you  look  in 
the  dictionary?"  (There  was  a  big  Webster  on  the  table.) 
"Wal,  Judge,"  he  replied,  "I  never  got  the  hang  of  them  bloody 
dictionaries."  We  see  in  these  things  a  certain  unstudied 
tinge  of  natural  poetry. 

When  the  steamboat  appeared  among  them  with  its  fiery 
furnaces  and  huge  stacks,  puffing  out  volumes  of  black  smoke 
and  sparks,  they  were  amazed  and  called  it  by  the  only  name 
that  would  naturally  occur  to  them,  "pata-wata,"  or  fire  canoe. 

The  next  phenomenon  that  came  along  was  the  railroad 
cars,  propelled  by  fire  as  the  steamboat  was;  and  what  do 
you  think  they  called  them?  "The  fire  canoe  that  goes  over 
the  mountain."  As  there  were  no  railroads  when  I  lived 
among  the  Indians,  I  cannot  give  you  the  Sioux  for  it  except 
as  I  have  since  learned  it,  "Ha-ma-nee."    "Ma-nee"  is  to  walk. 

There  was  a  Virginia  friend  of  mine  who,  on  his  first  see- 
ing an  express  train  go  whizzing  by,  gave  it  a  name  equally 
descriptive.    He  called  it  "Hell  in  harness." 

You  have  often  seen  the  flocks  of  wild  geese  as  they  fly 
over  our  state  in  their  annual  migrations  from  the  south  to  the 
north  and  back  again,  and  heard  them  squawk:  the  sound 
they  make  is  expressed  by  the  word  "ma-ga,"  and  the  Sioux 
calls  the  wild  goose  "ma-ga,"  in  exact  imitation  of  his  cry. 
An  Indian  will  hide  himself  and  call  "ma-ga,  ma-ga,"  as  a 
flock  is  passing,  and  deceive  them  into  believing  one  of  their 
number  is  in  distress,  and  by  this  means  turn  the  whole  flock 
and  get  a  shot  at  them. 

There  is  another  point  to  which  I  would  like  to  draw  your 
attention.  Among  the  Sioux,  the  dog  seems  to  be  the  generic 
type  or  standard  for  almost  all  animals.    They  call  a  dog 


218  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

"chunka,"  a  wolf  "chunka-toka-cha,"  or  the  other  dog,  which 
is  very  appropriate,  as  the  two  animals  very  much  resemble 
each  other.  The  horse  is  called  "wakon-chunka,"  or  the  spirit 
dog;  the  panther  or  cougar,  "enemu-chunka,"  or  the  cat  dog, 
a  cat  being  called  "enemu."  This  may  extend  to  other  animals, 
but  I  am  fast  forgetting  my  Sioux  and  cannot  give  more  in- 
stances, 

THE  SIOUX  MAIDEN  FEAST. 

The  most  interesting  ceremony  I  remember  having  seen 
among  the  Sioux,  was  a  trial  to  determine  the  fair  fame  of  a 
young  woman.  The  manner  in  which  is  was  conducted,  and 
the  apparently  correct  decision  arrived  at,  although  the  meth- 
od of  procedure  was  the  very  opposite  of  anything  ever  seen 
in  a  civilized  court,  was  very  impressive,  and  deeply  interest- 
ing. I  will  endeavor  to  give  you  an  idea  of  it.  The  name  of 
the  ceremony  is  "the  maiden  feast,"  and  it  takes  place  under 
the  following  circumstances. 

Whenever  any  gossip  or  scandal  about  any  maiden  in  the 
band  gains  circulation,  and  reaches  the  ears  of  her  mother, 
the  latter  commands  her  daughter  to  give  a  maiden  feast  to 
vindicate  her  character.  The  girl  then  summons  all  the  maid- 
ens in  the  band  to  her  feast  at  a  certain  time,  which  is  an- 
nounced through  the  band.  When  the  hour  arrives  all  the 
girls  appear  on  the  prairie;  they  all  have  a  red  spot  painted 
with  vermillion  on  each  cheek.  A  large,  round  stone  painted 
red  is  placed  on  the  prairie,  with  a  long  knife  stuck  in  the 
ground  in  front  of  it  and  close  to  it.  The  girls  then  form 
a  semicircle  in  front  of  the  stone  and  knife,  and  each  one 
separately  comes  forward  and  touches  the  stone  with  her 
right  hand,  then  falls  back  about  twenty-five  feet  and  sits 
down  on  the  grass.  The  hostess,  having  taken  her  place  with 
the  rest,  then  retires  and  returns  with  a  dish  for  each  of  her 
guests,  on  which  is  a  small  quantity  of  rice,  and  a  knife  or 
spoon  to  eat  it  with.  After  they  are  all  helped,  she  takes  her 
place  in  the  circle,  and  they  all  begin  slowly  and  in  an  un- 
concerned way  to  eat,  not  looking  away  from  their  dishes. 
The  object  of  this  is  a  challenge  to  any  man  in  the  band  to 
publicly  make  any  charge  he  may  have  against  any  of  the 
girls:  the  touching  the  stone  is  regarded  as  a  very  sacred  and 
solemn  oath  that  the  accused  will  tell  the  truth. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.  219 

While  these  preliminary  arrangements  are  being  made,  all 
the  rest  of  the  band,  men,  women,  and  children,  have  assem- 
bled, and  every  one  awaits  to  see  if  any  charge  will  be  made. 
The  manner  of  making  an  accusation,  is  for  the  party  making 
it  to  step  up  in  front  of  the  girl,  seize  her  by  the  hand  and  pull 
her  to  her  feet.  If  nothing  transpires  before  the  rice  is  eaten, 
the  giver  of  the  feast  is  vindicated,  her  character  restored, 
and  her  mother  satisfied;  then  the  feast  is  broken  up  and  the 
actors  disperse. 

I  cannot  convey  the  idea  of  the  making  of  a  charge,  and 
the  trial  of  its  truth  or  falsity,  better  than  to  relate  what  I 
witnessed  on  one  of  these  occasions.  When  the  circle  was 
formed,  a  young  buck  stepped  boldly  in  front  of  a  very  pretty 
girl  of  about  sixteen  or  eighteen  years,  and  roughly  jerked 
her  to  her  feet,  and  charged  her  with  some  indiscretion.  The 
spectators  watched  the  countenances  of  both  parties  with  the 
closest  scrutiny.  The  face  of  the  accused  became  a  study. 
She  seemed  paralyzed  with  indignation,  and  looked  her  ac- 
cuser boldly  in  the  eye  with  an  expression  of  injured  innocence 
so  intense  and  agonizing  as  to  prevent  utterance.  The  two 
stood  glaring  upon  each  other  in  silence  for  a  short  time, 
when  the  man  displayed  symptoms  of  nervousness,  which  im- 
mediately attracted  the  audience,  and  they  began  crying  out 
to  the  girl,  "Swear!  Swear!"  This  seemed  to  give  her  cour- 
age, and,  wrenching  herself  forcibly  from  her  accuser,  she 
strode  with  a  queenly  air  to  the  stone  and  almost  em- 
braced it.  This  together  with  an  apparent  weakening  of  the 
man,  seemed  to  convince  the  people  of  her  innocence,  and  they 
began  to  jeer  and  howl  at  him  until  he  commenced  to  back 
from  his  position,  when  about  fifty  men  and  boys  closed  in  on 
him,  and  he  fled  like  a  scared  antelope,  with  the  crowd  at  his 
heels,  hurling  sticks  and  stones  at  him  until  he  disappeared 
from  sight.  I  never  was  more  satisfied  with  the  correctness 
of  a  decision  in  all  my  experience. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  ITASCA. 

In  speaking  of  the  origin  of  names  of  natural  objects  in  our 
state,  one  of  the  most  interesting  is  "Itasca,"  which  is  the 
name  of  the  lake  now  known  to  be  the  true  source  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river.  Most  people  think  it  is  an  Indian  word,  but 
such  is  not  the  case.  It  is  a  coined  word,  and  was  made  under 
the  following  circumstances. 


220  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

It  has  always  been  an  object  of  interest  to  know  where  this 
great  river  has  its  source.  More  than  fifty  years  ago,  when 
Gen.  Lewis  Cass  was  governor  of  Michigan,  his  territory  in- 
cluded all  that  is  now  Minnesota,  and  he  made  a  voyage  of  dis- 
covery to  find  the  source  of  the  river.  He  ascended  in  birch 
canoes  until  he  reached  the  large  lake  now  known  as  Cass 
lake,  and  not  finding  any  inlet  he  decided  it  to  be  the  source, 
and  did  not  pursue  his  investigations  further.  This  lake  was 
from  that  time  called  Cass  lake,  and  was  supposed  to  be  the 
head  of  the  river.  Some  years  afterward  Mr.  Schoolcraft  un- 
dertook the  same  exploration,  and,  finding  a  considerable  inlet 
to  Cass  lake,  he  advanced  to  its  sources,  and  found  a  small 
lake  wilich  he  was  convinced  was  the  true  head,  which  our 
historical  society  has  since  absolutely  verified.  Schoolcraft 
was  not  a  man  of  much  education,  and  knew  little  Latin  and 
less  Greek.  He  wanted  a  name  for  his  lake  that  would  be 
agreeable  to  the  ear  and  appropriate  to  the  subject.  He  had 
with  him  a  gentleman,  who  recently  died  in  Stillwater,  Rev. 
William  T.  Boutwell,  whom  he  consulted  on  the  important 
subject  of  naming  his  new-found  lake.  This  person  took  two 
Latin  words,  "veritas,"  truth,  and  "caput,"  the  head,  which 
Schoolcraft  cut  down,  to  retain  only  the  last  two  syllables  of 
"Veritas,"  making  "Itas,"  and  the  first  syllable  of  "caput," 
making  "ca."  He  then  joined  them  and  made  the  beautiful 
word  "Itasca"  or  the  true  head.  A  more  skillful  or  beautiful 
feat  in  a  literary  point  of  view  was  never  achieved. 

You  will  find  this  name  accounted  for  erroneously  in  some 
of  the  editions  of  Webster's  Dictionary.  He  says  it  is  taken 
from  two  Indian  words,  "la"  and  "totosha,"  meaning,  I  have 
found  the  breast  of  the  woman,  or  the  source  of  life.  This  is 
entirely  unfounded,  as  the  words  can  not  be  tortured  into  mak- 
ing the  word  Itasca ;  and  we  know  without  a  doubt  that  the 
explanation  I  give  is  absolutely  correct.  Some  one  fooled 
Webster.  It  is  true  that  the  words  he  quotes  are  strictly  good 
Chippewa,  and  mean  what  he  says  they  do,  "la,"  I  have  found, 
and  "to-to-sha,"  the  female  breast;  but  they  are  utterly  for- 
eign to  the  name  "Itasca," 

Another  illustration  of  the  descriptive  nomenclature  of  the 
Sioux  is  found  in  the  name  they  give  a  piano,  "chan-da-wa-ki- 
ya-pee,"  which  means  an  instrument  made  of  wood  that  talks 
music. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD.  221 

OLD  NAMES  PASSING  AWAY. 

It  occurs  to  me  that  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  fact 
that  original  names  are  fast  passing  away  in  our  own  state 
and  city.  We  have  a  county  of  Wabasha,  a  city  of  Wabasha, 
and  in  St.  Paul  a  Wabasha  street.  All  these  names  come 
from  an  Indian  chief  whom  I  knew  very  well  and  highly  re- 
spected. He  was  a  chief  of  the  "Wak-pay-ku-ties,"  or  leaf- 
shooters,  and  his  name  was  "Wa-pa-sha,"  not  Wabasha. 
"Wapa"  means  a  leaf,  a  staff,  and  a  bear's  head;  "sha"  means 
red.  So  his  name  meant  either  Red  Leaf,  Red  Staff,  or  Red 
Bear's  Head.  We  always  thought  it  meant  the  Red  Leaf. 
This  corruption  between  Wabasha  and  Wapasha  is  not  of  so 
much  importance;  but  it  is  well,  while  we  can,  to  get  things 
right.  It  amounts  to  about  as  much  as  Thompson  with  a  "p," 
or  Thomson  without  a  "p." 

Another  instance  exists  right  in  our  own  midst.  Robert 
street  was  named  after  Louis  Robert,  pronounced  "Robear,"  a 
prominent  Frenchman  among  the  old  settlers,  and  until  quite 
recently  was  always  given  the  French  pronunciation  "Robear," 
but  the  newcomers  all  call  it  Robert  street.  I  was  in  a  street- 
car the  other  day  and  told  the  conductor  to  put  me  off  at  "Ro- 
bear" street.  He  promptly  informed  me  that  I  was  on  the 
wrong  car.  It  will  not  be  long  before  the  correct  name  will 
be  forgotten. 

INDIAN  MEDICINE  MEN. 

A  singular  thing  among  the  Sioux  Indians  was  their  faith 
in  their  medical  mysteries.  There  is  a  guild  among  them 
called  medicine  men.  They  work  wonders  with  the  sick  and 
afflicted.  I  have  known  men  sick  with  rheumatism  to  be 
cured  by  the  medicine  men  rattling  gourds  full  of  beans  over 
their  prostrate  forms,  and  chanting  in  a  manner  calculated 
to  kill  the  sick  and  destroy  the  nerves  of  the  well.  I  have  had 
them  bring  to  me  the  evidence  of  their  success  in  various  ways. 
One  man  was  sick  unto  death  with  rheumatism.  The  medi- 
cine men  worked  over  him  for  several  days  and  finally  pro- 
duced an  old-fashioned  flint-style  gunlock,  which  they  ex- 
tracted from  his  afflicted  back.  They  showed  me  this  in  tri- 
umph. I  read  on  it  "Harper's  Ferry"  in  very  plain  English. 
I  have  had  them  show  me  live  frogs  and  snakes  which  they 
had  taken  out  of  their  patients. 


222  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Now,  it  is  easy  to  understand  now  the  medicine  man  can 
humbug  his  patients.  We  see  this  every  day  in  civilized  life. 
But  how  the  medicine  man  can  be  humbugged  in  the  same 
way  it  is  difficult  to  understand.  But  such  is  undoubtedly 
the  case.  When  an  old  friend  of  mine,  named  Shakopee,  who 
was  a  medicine  man,  became  sick  at  the  Eedwood  Agency,  I 
sent  my  doctor  down  to  see  him.  I  was  then  represented  by 
Dr.  Daniels,  now  one  of  the  most  prominent  physicians  in  the 
state,  living  at  St.  Peter.  He  reported  that  he  was  sick  with 
typhoid  fever,  and  that  all  he  needed  was  good  nursing,  good 
food,  and  rest.  I  had  the  facilities  for  all  these  conditions, 
and  sent  an  ambulance  to  bring  him  to  my  agency.  But  he 
positively  refused,  and  had  the  medicine  men  drum  and  rattle 
beans  over  him  until  he  died.  Now,  this  has  always  been  to 
me  a  problem;  do  these  savages  actually  believe  in  their  medi- 
cine, and  that  they  get  gunlocks,  snakes,  frogs  and  such  things 
out  of  their  patients?  or  would  they  rather  die  under  the  same 
treatment  than  confess  their  frauds  by  accepting  civilized 
methods?  I  confess  that  I  have  never  been  able  to  solve  the 
problem,  and  when  my  old  friend  Shakopee  stuck  to  the  bar- 
baric treatment  unto  death,  I  rather  inclined  to  the  opinion 
that  they  were  really  in  earnest.  It  is  an  interesting  question, 
and,  having  given  the  facts,  I  turn  the  psychological  part  of  it 
over  to  the  thinkers. 

Now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  have  given  you  a  general 
melange  of  everything,  which  contains  very  little  of  anything; 
and  if  I  have  amused,  interested,  or  instructed  you,  in  any  de- 
gree, I  am  well  repaid. 


HENNEPIN  AS  DISCOVERER  AND  AUTHOR.* 


BY  SAMUEL  M.  DAVIS. 


EARLIER  DISCOVERY  TO    THE    TIME    OF    LA    SALLE. 

Columbus  discovered  the  fringes  and  borders  of  the  great 
western  world  on  his  first  and  second  voyages.     He  left  it  to 
be  explored  and  occupied  by  the  rivals  of  many  different  na- 
tions.    The  French,  the  English,  and  the  Spanish,  sent  out 
many  adventurers  and  explorers,  the  prows  of  whose  vessels 
were   turned   ever   westward.    Nicollet,  Marquette,  and   La 
Salle;  the  Cabots,  Frobisher,  and  Drake;  Ponce  de  Leon,  Bal- 
boa, and  De  Soto,  all  won  laurels  and  enduring  fame  for  them- 
selves from  the  discoveries  and  explorations  made  on  this 
continent.   The  French,  naturally  a  race  of  explorers,  in  whom 
discovery  speedily  develops  into  a  passion,  were  among  the 
foremost  to  penetrate  far  into  the  interior  of  the  new  world. 
They  came  either  as  explorers  and  discoverers  in  search  of 
adventure,  as  leaders  of  expeditions,  and  as  traders  and  sol- 
diers, or  as  missionaries  with  Bible  and  Crucifix,  carrying  the 
gospel  of  Cross  and  Church  to  the  fiercest  savage  tribes  in  the 
remote  wilderness.     They  passed  westward  by  the  natural 
chain  of  communication,  consisting  of  rivers  and  the  line  of 
great  lakes,  until  they  pierced  the  very  center  of  the  continent 
itself,  and  established  wherever  they  went  trading  posts  and 
mission  stations.    These  afterwards  developed  into  the  numer- 
ous towns  and  cities  which  still  bear  the  names  of  the  early 
French  explorers.    They  pushed  their  enterprises  throughout 
the  entire  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  traversed  the  remotest 
regions  of  the  Northwest.    With  unwearied  feet  they  stayed 
not  until  they  had  made  good  their  claims  of  discovery  by 
actual  possession,  and  then  rested  not  from  their  labors  until 


*Read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,  April  11,  1898. 


224  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

they  had  erected  the  cross  of  conquest  beside  every  lake  and 
watercourse  throughout  the  heart  of  the  continent. 

We  naturally  divide  the  first  pioneers  into  two  classes: 
The  first  were  commissioned  by  king  or  emperor,  and  with 
sword  in  their  hand  they  pushed  their  discoveries  farther  and 
farther  toward  the  setting  sun,  in  the  hope  of  winning  em- 
pires for  their  sovereigns,  and  the  wealth  of  unclaimed  Eldo- 
rados  for  themselves.  The  second  were  pious  and  devout  mis- 
sionaries, with  letters  patent  from  pope  or  bishop,  who,  with- 
out hope  of  earthly  gain,  but  inspired  with  a  lofty  zeal  and 
ardent  faith,  kept  step  with  the  more  worldly  conquerors  and 
under  the  banner  of  the  cross  expected  to  gain  for  themiselves 
and  their  converts  eternal  felicity  beyond  the  grave.  These 
devout  and  zealous  men  were  usually  attached  to  the  com- 
pany and  subservient  to  the  will  and  orders  of  the  leader  of 
the  exploring  party.  It  was  to  this  class  that  Father  Louis 
Hennepin,  the  chief  character  of  this  sketch,  belonged. 

La  Salle  was  the  most  noted  French  explorer  that  ever 
traversed  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  He  began  his  great 
western  voyage  of  discovery  on  the  7th  day  of  August,  1679. 
Among  those  who  accompanied  him  on  that  memorable  expe- 
dition was  Louis  Hennepin,  a  Franciscan  priest  of  the  Eecol- 
lect  order.  By  the  middle  of  January,  1680,  La  Salle  had  con- 
ducted his  exploration  to  the  banks  of  the  Illinois  river.  Near 
lake  Peoria  he  commenced  the  erection  of  Fort  Cr&vecoeur. 
It  is  not  within  the  purview  of  this  paper  to  relate  the  adven- 
tures, discoveries  and  wondrous  achievements  of  this  redoubt- 
able Frenchman.  His  biography  is  filled  with  accounts  of 
incredible  hardships  and  superhuman  efforts.  The  story  of 
his  life  shows  him,  though  baffled,  a  conqueror,  and  though 
defeated,  yet  winning  enduring  and  lasting  fame.  In  estimat- 
ing his  character,  Francis  Parkman  says:  "Never,  under  the 
impenetrable  mail  of  paladin  or  crusader,  beat  a  heart  of 
more  interpid  mettle  than  within  the  stoic  panoply  that  armed 
the  breast  of  La  Salle.  To  estimate  aright  the  marvels  of  his 
patient  fortitude,  one  must  follow  on  his  track  through  the 
vast  scene  of  his  interminable  journeyings,  those  thousands  of 
weary  miles  of  forest,  marsh,  and  river,  where,  again  and 
again,  in  the  bitterness  of  baffled  striving,  the  untiring  pil- 
grim pushed  onward  towards  the  goal  which  he  was  never  to 


HENNEPIN  AS  DISCOVERER  AND  AUTHOR.  225 

attain.  America  owes  him  an  enduring  memory;  for  in  tins 
masculine  figure,  cast  in  iron,  she  sees  the  heroic  pioneer  who 
guided  her  to  the  possession  of  her  richest  heritage."* 

HENNEPIN'S  CAPTIVITY  AND  DISCOVERIES  IN  MINNESOTA. 

In  February,  1680,  La  Salle  selected  Michel  Accau,  Antoine 
Auguel,  known  also  as  Du  Gay,f  and  Father  Hennepin,  for  the 
arduous  and  dangerous  undertaking  of  exploring  the  unknown 
regions  of  the  upper  Mississippi.  Accau,  because  of  his 
knowledge  of  the  Sioux  language  and  customs,  was  chosen 
as  the  leader  of  the  expedition,  but  Father  Hennepin,  as  its  his- 
torian, takes  most  of  the  credit  both  of  the  leadership  and  dis- 
covery to  himself.  Daring  and  ambitious  of  the  title  of  a  dis- 
coverer, he  was  not  unwilling  to  go  upon  the  expedition,  al- 
though he  is  said  to  have  desired  some  delay  on  account  of  a 
sore  mouth. 

Their  canoe  was  pushed  from  the  sandy  shore  of  the  Illi- 
nois river  on  the  last  day  of  February,  1680.  Besides  the  trav- 
ellers, it  contained  a  generous  supply  of  tobacco,  knives,  beads, 
awls,  and  other  goods,  to  a  considerable  value,  supplied  at  La 
•Salle's  cost  Referring  to  this  act  of  generosity,  Hennepin 
says  in  the  first  edition  of  his  work,  although  it  is  omitted  in 
all  subsequent  editions,  that  La  Salle  was  liberal  enough  to 
his  friends.  The  friar  bade  adieu  to  La  Salle  and  his  com- 
panions, while  his  venerable  colleague,  Eibourde,  gave  him 
his  parting  benediction,  saying,  as  he  spread  his  hands  over 
the  head  of  the  reverend  traveller,  "Be  of  good  courage  and  let 
your  heart  be  comforted." 

The  travellers  were  detained  at  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois 
for  some  time  on  account  of  the  ice  floating  in  the  Mississippi. 
As  soon  as  opportunity  offered,  the  three  travellers  turned 
their  canoe  northward  and  plied  their  paddles  against  the  cur- 
rent of  the  Mississippi.  We  are  informed  that  during  their 
voyage  they  were  exemplary  in  their  devotions.  Hennepin 
tells  us  that  they  said  their  prayers  at  morning  and  night 
and  the  angelus  at  noon,  invoking  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  that 


*La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,  p.  407. 

fin  the  spelling  of  these  names  I  have  followed  Parkman.  They  are  also 
spelled  Michael  Accault  or  Ako,  and  Auguelle,  the  latter  being  more  com- 
monly called  "the  Pieard  Du  Gay"  (or  du  Guay). 

15 


226  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

he  would  protect  them  from  the  perils  surrounding  their  way; 
and  Hennepin,  not  without  reason,  prayed  that  it  might  be  the 
good  fortune  of  the  company  to  meet  the  warlike  Sioux  by  day 
rather  than  by  night.  They  proceeded  unmolested  until  they 
reached  the  region  about  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin.  At 
this  point  the  petitions  of  Hennepin  were  realized,  and  he 
tells  us  of  their  capture  in  the  following  language: 

Our  prayers  were  heard  when,  on  the  11th  of  April,  1680,  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  suddenly  perceived  thirty-three  bark 
canoes,  manned  by  a  hundred  and  twenty  Indians,  coming  down  with 
extraordinary  speed,  to  make  war  on  the  Miamis,  Islinois,  and  Maroha. 
These  Indians  surrounded  us,  and,  while  at  a  distance,  discharged 
some  arrows  at  us;  but  as  they  approached  our  canoe  the  old  men 
seeing  us  with  the  calumet  of  peace  in  our  hands,  prevented  the  young 
men  from  killing  us.  These  brutal  men,  leaping  from  their  canoes, 
some  on  land,  others  into  the  water,  with  frightful  cries  and  yells, 
approached  us,  and  as  we  made  no  resistance,  being  only  three 
against  so  great  a  number,  one  of  them  wrenched  our  calumet  from 
our  hands,  while  our  canoe  and  theirs  were  made  fast  to  the  shore. 
We  first  presented  them  a  piece  of  Petun  or  French  tobacco,  better  for 
smoking  than  theirs,  and  the  eldest  among  them  uttered  these  words, 
"Miamiha,  Miamiha."  As  we  did  not  understand  their  language,  we 
took  a  little  stick,  and  by  signs  which  we  made  on  the  sand,  showed 
them  that  their  enemies^  the  Miamis,  whom  they  sought,  had  fled 
across  the  river  Colbert  to  join  the  Islinois;  when  then  they  saw 
themselves  discovered  and  unable  to  surprise  their  enemies,  three  or 
four  old  men  laying  their  hands  on  my  head,  wept  in  a  lugubrious 
tone,  and  I  with  a  wretched  handkerchief  I  had  left,  wiped  away  their 
tears.  These  savages  would  not  smoke  our,  peace-calumet.  They  made 
us  cross  the  river  with  great  cries,  which  all  shouted  together,  with 
tears  in  their  eyes;  they  made  us  paddle  before  them,  and  we  heard 
yells  capable  of  striking  the  most  resolute  with  terror.  After  landing 
our  canoe  and  our  goods,  some  part  of  which  they  had  already  stolen, 
we  made  a  fire  to  boil  our  kettle;  we  gave  them  two  large  wild  turkeys 
that  we  had  killed.  These  savages  having  called  their  assembly  to  de- 
liberate on  what  they  were  to  do  with  us,  the  two  head  chiefs  of  the 
party  approaching,  showed  us,  by  signs,  that  the  warriors  wished  to 
tomahawk  us.  This  compelled  me  to  go  to  the  war  chiefs  with  one  of 
my  men,  leaving  the  other  by  our  property,  and  throw  into  their  midst 
six  axes,  fifteen  knives,  and  six  fathom  of  our  black  tobacco.  Then 
bowing  down  my  head,  I  showed  them,  with  an  axe,  that  they  might 
tomahawk  us,  if  they  thought  proper.  This  present  appeased  several 
individuals  among  them,  who  gave  us  some  beaver  to  eat,  putting  the 
three  first  morsels  in  our  mouth  according  to  the  custom  of  the  coun- 
try, and  blowing  on  the  meat  which  was  too  hot,  before  putting  their 


HENNEPIN  AS  DISCOVERER  AND  AUTHOR.  227 

bark  dish  before  us,  to  let  us  eat  as  we  liked.  We  spent  the  night  in 
anxiety,  because,  before  retiring  at  night,  they  had  returned  our  peace 
calumet. 

On  the  nineteenth  day  of  the  journey  of  the  three  travellers 
the  Indians  landed  their  prisoners  in  a  bay  about  five  leagues 
below  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  The  worthy  father  had  a  severe 
experience  and  foretaste  of  the  oppression  in  store  for  him 
during  the  journey.  Upon  opening  his  breviary,  when  he  be- 
gan to  mutter  his  morning  devotions,  the  Indians  gathered 
about  him  with  faces  which  showed  their  superstitious  terror. 
They  gave  him  to  understand  that  his  book  was  a  bad  spirit, 
with  which  he  was  to  hold  no  more  converse.  In  their  igno- 
rance, they  believed  that  he  was  invoking  a  charm  for  their 
destruction.  Accau  and  Du  Gay,  realizing  the  danger  that 
was  imminent,  begged  the  friar  to  dispense  with  his  devotions, 
fearing  that  they  all  might  be  tomahawked  by  the  Indians. 
The  good  father,  however,  asserts  that  his  sense  of  religious 
obligation  rose  superior  to  his  fears,  and  he  resolved  to  say  his 
prayers  at  all  hazards,  although  he  asked  pardon  of  his  twro 
friends  for  in  this  way  imperilling  their  lives.  In  this  emer- 
gency, however,  as  in  most  of  the  difficulties  which  beset  his 
way,  he  found  a  device  by  which  he  could  at  once  fulfill  his 
religious  duties,  without  imperilling  his  life  or  the  lives  of 
his  friends.  He  says  that  he  placed  the  breviary  open  upon 
his  knees  and  sang  the  service  in  loud  and  cheerful  tones. 
This  seems  to  have  had  a  salutary  effect  upon  the  warriors,  as 
it  had  no  savor  of  sorcery,  and  they  now  imagined  that  the 
book  was  instructing  the  good  father  to  sing  for  their  amuse- 
ment. Accordingly,  they  conceived  a  favorable  idea  of  both 
the  priest  and  the  method  of  his  devotions. 

One  of  the  chiefs,  named  Aquipaguetin,  who  had  lost  a 
son  in  the  war  with  the  Miamis,  being  angry  that  the  war 
party  had  not  proceeded  with  their  expedition,  so  that  he 
might  avenge  himself  for  the  loss  of  his  son,  was  particularly 
hostile  and  enraged  toward  the  captives.  Several  times  dur- 
ing their  captivity  this  warlike  chief  wTas  on  the  point  of  toma- 
hawking the  prisoners.  It  may  be  somewhat  of  a  question 
whether  or  not  he  was  as  desirous  of  their  scalps  as  he  was 
of  their  property,  for  he  seemed  on  each  outbreak  of  his  anger 


228  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

to  be  appeased  by  gifts.  The  old  chief  had  a  peculiar  method 
of  appropriating  their  property,  which,  according  to  Indian 
custom,  was  in  their  untutored  state  "due  process  of  law."  He 
conveyed  with  him  the  bones  of  a  deceased  relative,  which  he 
was  carrying  home  wrapped  in  numerous  skins  prepared  with 
smoke  after  the  Indian  fashion,  decorated  with  feathers  and 
quills.  Placing  these  relics  in  the  midst  of  his  warriors,  he 
would  call  on  all  present  to  smoke  to  their  honor.  After  the 
smoking  ceremony  was  over,  Hennepin  was  required  to  ap- 
pease the  departed  spirit  with  the  more  substantial  tribute  of 
cloth,  beads,  tobacco,  and  hatchets,  which  were  laid  upon  the 
bundle  of  bones.  The  offerings  of  the  friar  were  then,  in  the 
name  of  the  deceased,  distributed  among  the  warriors  present. 
The  three  captives  were  distributed,  and  each  was  given 
to  the  head  of  a  family  in  place  of  their  children  who  had  been 
killed  in  war.  The  Indians  then  seized  all  their  property  and 
broke  their  canoe,  probably  fearing  that  the  white  men  might 
return  to  their  enemies.  The  band  of  Indians  then  commenced 
a  march  overland  to  the  lake  of  the  Issati  (Mille  Lacs).  Hen- 
nepin tells  us  that  they  were  forced  to  march  from  daybreak 
until  two  hours  after  nightfall  and  to  swim  over  many  rivers. 
The  braves  carried  the  two  other  Frenchmen  on  their  shoul- 
ders in  fording  these  streams,  because  they  could  not  swim; 
but  he  was  compelled  to  swim  these  rivers,  which  he  says 
were  often  full  of  sharp  ice,  and  he  adds  that  his  legs  were 
bloody  from  being  cut  by  the  ice  of  shallower  water  which  he 
forded,  and  that  on  leaving  the  water  he  could  hardly  stand 
on  account  of  the  cold.  He  also  says  that  they  partook  of 
food  only  once  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  that  then  the  bar- 
barians gave  them  grudgingly  only  some  pieces  of  meat. 
There  is  not  much  doubt  that  the  historian  of  this  expedition 
is  correct  when  he  states  that  the  Indians  marched  with  great 
speed,  and  that  it  was  very  difficult  for  Europeans  to  keep  up 
with  them.  In  order  to  hasten  the  footsteps  of  the  white  men, 
the  Indians  often  set  fire  to  the  grass  where  they  were  passing, 
so  that  they  had  to  advance  or  be  burned.  They  at  length 
arrived  at  the  village  of  the  Issati,  near  Mille  Lacs,  the  source 
of  the  Eum  river,  named  by  Hennepin  the  St.  Francis.  The 
reception  they  met  on  their  approach  is  best  told  in  the  words 
of  Hennepin  himself: 


HENNEPIN  AS  DISCOVERER  AND  AUTHOR.  229 

After  five  days'  march  by  land,  suffering  hunger,  thirst  and  outrages, 
marching  all  day  long  without  rest,  fording  lakes  and  rivers,  we 
descried  a  number  of  women  and  children  coming  to  meet  our  little 
army.  All  the  elders  of  this  nation  assembled  on  our  account,  and  as 
we  saw  cabins,  and  bundles  of  straw  hanging  from  the  posts  of  them, 
to  which  these  savages  bind  those  whom  they  take  as  slaves,  and 
burn  them;  and  seeing  that  they  made  the  Picard  du  Gay  sing,  as  he 
held  and  shook  a  gourd  full  of  little  round  pebbles,  and  seeing  his  hair 
and  face  were  filled  with  paint  of  different  colors,  and  a  tuft  of  white 
feathers  attached  to  his  head  by  the  Indians,  we  not  unreasonably 
thought  that  they  wished  to  kill  us,  as  they  performed  many  cere- 
monies, usually  practiced  when  they  intend  to    burn  their  enemies. 

During  his  stay  among  the  Sioux,  Hennepin  was  assigned 
to  the  protection  of  his  ancient  enemy,  Aquipaguetin,  who, 
seemingly  to  atone  for  his  harsh  treatment  of  the  holy  father, 
immediately  adopted  him  as  his  son.  The  three  companions 
were  separated,  and  Hennepin  was  conducted  to  the  lodge 
of  his  adopted  father,  near  the  shore  of  Mille  Lacs.  Here 
Hennepin  was  received  cordially  and  placed  on  a  bear  skin 
before  the  fire,  while  to  relieve  his  fatigue  he  was  anointed 
by  a  small  boy  with  the  fat  of  a  wildcat,  which  was  supposed 
to  be  a  specific  for  all  lameness  of  limb  on  account  of  the 
agility  of  that  animal.  The  chief  displayed  to  Hennepin  his 
six  or  seven  wives,  who  were  bidden  to  regard  him,  as  their 
son. 

The  Indians,  seeing  him  so  weak  that  he  could  hardly 
stand,  either  on  account  of  fatigue  or  some  malady,  erected 
for  him  a  sweating  cabin,  where  they  gave  him  a  steam  bath 
three  times  a  week,  from  which  he  declares  that  he  received 
much  benefit.* 

The  Indians  regarded  Hennepin  as  endowed  with  powers 
of  magic,  and  they  stood  in  awe  of  his  pocket  compass,  as  well 
as  of  "an  iron  pot  with  three  lion  feet,"  which  they  would  not 
touch  with  uncovered  hands.  Hennepin  tells  us  that  he 
passed  his  time  in  various  occupations  about  the  camp;  in 
tonsuring  the  heads  of  the  Indian  children,  and  in  bleeding 
certain  persons  affected  with  asthma,  as  well  as  dosing  others 
with  orvietan,  a  drug  held  in  high  regard  in  that  day,  of  which 

*These  baths  are  given  in  a  small  hut,  covered  closely  with  buffalo  skins, 
into  which  the  patient  and  his  friends  enter,  carefully  closing  every  aper- 
ture. A  pile  of  heated  stones  is  placed  in  the  middle,  and  water  is  poured 
upon  them,  raising  a  dense  vapor.  In  1868  they  were  still  in  use  among*  the 
Sioux  and  some  other  tribes*  * 


230  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

he  had  a  good  supply.  His  religious  efforts  with  the  Indians 
seem  to  have  proved  unavailing,  as  he  says  he  could  gain  noth- 
ing over  them  in  the  way  of  their  salvation,  on  account  of 
their  natural  stupidity. 

While  there  was  not  much  love  lost  between  Hennepin  and 
his  Indian  father,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  strong  attach- 
ment between  Ouasicoud£,  the  principal  chief  of  the  Sioux  in 
that  region,  and  the  three  Frenchmen.  He  asserted  that  he 
wras  angry  that  they  had  been  robbed,  which  he  had  been  un- 
able to  prevent.  He  told  Hennepin's  adopted  father  and  the 
other  Issati  warriors  in  council  that  they  were  like  a  pack  of 
curs  who  seize  a  piece  of  meat  and  run  away  with  it. 

One  thing  which  caused  the  Indians  to  regard  Father  Hen- 
nepin as  different  from  his  two  companions  was  the  fact  of  his 
being  able  to  write.  In  order  to  learn  the  language,  he  asked 
the  names  of  many  objects,  and  then  reduced  the  spoken  words 
to  writing.  This  afforded  great  amusement  to  the  Indians. 
He  says  they  often  put  questions  to  him,  but  as  he  had  to  look 
at  his  paper  in  order  to  answer  them  they  said  to  one  another : 
"When  we  ask  P6re  Louis,  he  does  not  answer  us;  but  as 
soon  as  he  has  looked  at  what  is  white  [for  they  have  no  word 
to  say  paper],  he  answers  us,  and  tells  us  his  thoughts.  That 
white  thing,"  they  said,  "must  be  a  spirit  which  tells  P£re 
Louis  all  we  say." 

During  the  captivity  of  Hennepin  he  was  enabled  to  settle 
a  geographical  question  of  considerable  importance.  It  was 
supposed  that  the  Mississippi  river  emptied  into  the  Gulf  ot 
California  and  that  the  great  ocean  lay  not  far  west  of  that 
river.  On  the  maps  of  that  day  the  northwest  passage  was 
laid  down  as  through  the  straits  of  Anian,  which  were 
supposed  to  be  not  far  from  the  source  of  the  Mississippi. 
Hennepin  learned  from  Indians  who  came  to  the  village  and 
who  stated  that  they  had  come  from  the  west  fifteen  hundred 
miles,  a  journey  which  occupied  four  months,  that  they  had 
seen  no  sea  nor  any  great  body  of  water.  They  described  the 
country  to  the  far  northwest  with  general  accuracy,  saying 
that  it  contained  no  large  bodies  of  water,  but  that  it  had  many 
rivers  and  that  there  were  few  forests  in  that  region.  Hen- 
nepin decided,  from  these  statements,  that  the  straits  of 
Anian,  as  shown  upon  the  maps  at  that  time,  had  no  existence. 
He  also  supposed  that  the  route  to  the  Pacific  was  through 


HENNEPIN  AS  DISCOVERER  AND  AUTHOR.  231 

the  rivers  mentioned  by  these  Indians.    With  reference  to 
his  conclusions  on  the  subject,  he  says: 

All  these  circumstances  make  it  appear  that  there  is  no  such  place 
as  the  Straits  of  Anian,  as  we  usually  see  them  set  down  on  the 
maps.  And  whatever  efforts  have  been  made  for  many  years  past  by 
the  English  and  Dutch,  to  find  out  a  passage  to  the  Frozen  Sea,  they 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  effect  it.  But  by  the  help  of  my  discovery, 
and  the  assistance  of  God,  I  doubt  not  but  a  passage  may  still  be 
found,  and  that  an  easy  one  too.  JB'or  example,  we  may  be  transported 
into  the  Pacific  Sea,  by  rivers  which  are  large  and  capable  of  carrying 
great  vessels,  and  from  thence  it  is  very  easy  to  go  to  China  and 
Japan,  without  crossing  the  equinoctial  line,  and,  in  all  probability, 
Japan  is  on  the  same  continent  as  America. 

The  Indians  had  promised  Hennepin,  when  he  complained 
of  hunger,  that  the  tribes  should  go  on  a  buffalo  hunt  and 
there  would  then  be  plenty  of  food.  At  length  the  time  for 
departure  came,  and  each  band  was  assigned  to  its  special 
hunting  ground.  Fearing  to  accompany  his  Indian  father, 
lest  he  might  take  revenge  for  the  berating  of  Ouasicoud^, 
Hennepin  declared  that  he  expected  a  party  of  French  ex- 
plorers to  meet  him  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  river,  who 
would  bring  a  supply  of  goods  for  the  Indians  and  sufficient 
food.  He  declares  in  his  narrative  that  La  Salle  had,  in  fact, 
promised  to  send  traders  to  that  place.  This  assertion  may 
have  had  some  truth  in  it,  but  whether  it  was  true  or  not,  it 
served  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  made. 

At  length  the  Indians  set  out,  numbering  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  warriors,  with  their  wives  and  children.  Dur- 
ing the  time  of  their  captivity  the  three  Frenchmen  had  occa- 
sionally seen  each  other,  and  all  were  included  in  the  hunting 
party.  They  descended  the  Bum  river,  called  by  Hennepin 
the  St.  Francis,  which  forms  the  outlet  of  Mille  Lacs.  Henne- 
pin was  refused  passage  in  the  canoe  paddled  by  Du  Gay  and 
Accau.  The  latter  would  not  listen  to  the  friar's  appeal  to  be 
taken  on  board,  but  shouted  to  him  that  he  had  paddled  him 
long  enough  already.  He  was  afterwards  taken  in>  however, 
by  two  Indians  who  took  pity  on  him  and  brought  him  on  his 
journey.  The  party  encamped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kumi  river, 
near  where  Dayton,  Minnesota,  is  now  situated. 

Hennepin  was  desirous  of  leaving  the  Indian  camp  and 
anxious  to  set  out  for  the  Wisconsin  river  to  meet  the  party 


232  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

of  white  men,  who,  he  alleged,  were  to  arrive  at  that  place. 
His  friend,  the  great  chief  Ouasicoud£,  who  had  heretofore 
befriended  him,  made  it  possible  for  him  to  be  granted  this 
privilege.  Du  Gay  also  was  permitted  to  accompany  him, 
but  Aecau  preferred  life  with  the  Indians  to  travelling  with 
Hennepin.  The  two  adventurers  were  given  a  small  birch 
canoe  and  an  earthen  pot,  and,  armed  with  a  gun  and  knife 
and  a  robe  of  beaver  skin,  they  set  out  on  their  journey.  De- 
scending the  Mississippi,  they  soon  arrived  at  the  Falls  of  St 
Anthony.  The  following  account  is  given  of  the  falls  and  of 
what  the  travellers  found  there  on  their  downward  journey: 

The  navigation  is  interrupted  by  a  cataract  which  I  called  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  in  gratitude  for,  the  favors  done  me 
by  the  Almighty  through  the  intercession  of  that  great  saint,  whom 
we  had  chosen  patron  and  protector  of  all  our  enterprises.  This  cat- 
aract is  forty  or  fifty  feet  high,  divided  in  the  middle  of  its  fall  by  a 
rocky  island  of  pyramidal  form.  The  high  mountains  which  skirt  the 
river  Colbert  last  only  as  far  as  the  river  Ouisconsin,  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  leagues;  at  this  place  it  begins  to  flow  from  the  west 
and  northwest  without  our  having  been  able  to  learn  from  the  Indians, 
who  have  ascended  it  very  far,  the  spot  where  this  river  rises.  They 
merely  told  us,  that  twenty  or  thirty  leagues  above,  there  is  a  second 
fall,  at  the  foot  of  which  are  some  villages  of  the  prairie  people,  called 
Thinthonha,  who  live  there  a  part  of  the  year.  Eight  leagues  above 
St.  Anthony  of  Padua's  falls,  on  the  right,  you  find  the  river  of  the 
Issati  or  Nadoussion,  with  a  very  narrow  mouth,  which  you  can 
ascend  to  the  north  for  about  seventy  leagues  to  Lake  Buade  or  [the 
Lake]  of  the  Issati  where  it  rises 

.  .  .  .  As  we  were  making  the  portage  of  our  canoe  at  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  we  perceived  five  or  six  of  our  Indians 
who  had  taken  the  start;  one  of  whom  had  climbed  on  oak  opposite  the 
great  fall  where  he  was  weeping  bitterly,  with  a  well  dressed  beaver 
robe,  whitened  inside  and  trimmed  with  porcupine  quills,  which  this 
savage  was  offering  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  falls,  which  is  in  itself  admir- 
able and  frightful.  I  heard  him  while  shedding  copious  tears  say, 
addressing  this  great  cataract:  "Thou  who  art  a  spirit,  grant  that  the 
men  of  our  nation  may  pass  here  quietly  without  accident,  that  we 
may  kill  buffalo  in  abundance,  conquer  our  enemies,  and  bring  slaves 
here,  some  of  whom  we  will  put  to  death  before  thee;  the  Messenecqz 
[so  they  call  the  tribe  named  by  the  French  Outouagamis]  have  killed 
our  kindred,  grant  that  we  may  avenge  them."  In  fact,  after  the  heat 
of  the  buffalo  hunt,  they  invaded  their  enemies'  country,  killed  some, 
and  brought  others  as  slaves.  If  they  succeed  a  single  time,  even  after 
repeated  failures,  they  adhere  to  their  superstition.  This  robe  offered 
in  sacrifice  served  one  of  our  Frenchmen,  who  took  it  as  we  returned. 


HENNEPIN  AS  DISCOVERER  AND  AUTHOR.  233 

About  three  weeks  after  Hennepin  first  saw  the  Falls  of 
St.  Anthony,  as  here  narrated,  he  met  Duluth,  who  was  on  his 
way  to  release  these  Frenchmen  from  their  captivity.  Henne- 
pin writes  of  this  as  follows: 

On  the  25th  of  July,  1680,  as  we  were  ascending  the  river  Colbert, 
after  the  buffalo  hunt,  to  the  Indian  villages,  we  met  the  Sieur  de 
Luth,  who  came  to  the  Nadoussious,  with  five  French  soldiers;  they 
joined  us  about  two  hundred  and  twenty  leagues  distant  from  the 
country  of  the  Indians  who  had  taken  us;  as  we  had  some  knowledge 
of  their  language,  they  begged  us  to  accompany  them  to  the  villages 
of  those  tribes,  which  I  did  readily,  knowing  that  these  Frenchmen 
had  not  approached  the  sacraments  for  two  years.  The  Sieur  de  Luth, 
who  acted  as  captain,  seeing  me  tired  of  tonsuring  the  children,  and 
bleeding  asthmatic  old  men  to  get  a  mouthful  of  meat,  told  the  In- 
dians that  I  was  his  elder  brother,  so  that,  having  my  subsistence 
secured,  I  labored  only  for  the  salvation  of  these  Indians 

Toward  the  end  of  September,  having  no  implements  to  begin  an 
establishment,  we  resolved  to  tell  these  people,  that  for  their  benefit 
we  would  have  to  return  to  the  French  settlements.  The  great  chief 
of  the  Issati  or  Nadouessiouz  consented,  and  traced  in  pencil,  on  a 
paper  I  gave  him,  the  route  we  were  to  take  for  four  hundred  leagues 
of  the  way.  With  this  chart,  we  set  out,  eight  Frenchmen,  in  two 
canoes,  and  descended  the  rivers  St.  Francis  and  Colbert. 

Thence  the  adventurers  made  their  way  to  Canada,  and 
subsequently  Hennepin  arrived  in  France.  In  1683  he  pub- 
lished in  Paris  the  first  account  of  his  American  travels  and 
captivity  under  the  title  "Description  of  Louisiana."  There 
were  afterward  many  editions  and  translations  of  this  book 
printed.  As  many  as  twenty-eight  different  editions  and  pub- 
lications bear  his  name. 

Father  Hennepin  and  his  fellow  voyageurs  were  the  first 
white  men  whose  eyes  had  rested  on  the  waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi as  they  foamed  and  tossed  over  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony. 

Where  those  Frenchmen  more  than  two  centuries  ago 
stood,  beholding  in  the  clear  sunlight  the  glistening  spray  of 
the  Father  of  Waters,  now  stand  the  great  flouring  mills  of 
Minneapolis,  grinding  the  golden  grain  from  the  vast  prairies 
of  the  Sioux.  The  sound  of  this  machinery  surpasses  the  roar 
of  the  primitive  cataract,  while  the  clear  air  of  that  earlier 
day  is  filled  with  smoke  of  modern  locomotive  and  blazing 
furnace.  Across  that  same  stream  over  which  Hennepin  and 
Auguel  paddled  their  frail  canoe,  the  steel  and  granite  high- 


234  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

ways  of  commerce  rear  their  arching  columns.  Hennepin's 
name  is  linked  indissolubly  with  his  discovery  as  every  foot 
of  soil  for  many  miles  in  every  direction  from  the  Falls  of  St. 
Anthony  is  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation 
through  the  records  of  the  county  which  bears  his  name. 

THE  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OP  HENNEPIN. 

It  is  proper  in  this  connection  to  look  for  a  moment  at  the 
history  and  character  of  the  discoverer.  He  was  the  first 
European  to  see  and  name  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony;  the  first 
to  explore  the  Mississippi  above  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin; 
and  the  first  to  publish  an  account  of  his  journeys  and  discov- 
eries in  Europe.  The  facts  concerning  the  early  life  of  Hen- 
nepin are  meager. 

He  was  born  in  Hainaut,  a  province  of  Belgiumi,  in  the  town 
of  Ath.  During  his  early  years  he  wished  to  visit  foreign 
countries  in  search  of  adventure.  In  order  to  gain  the  object 
of  his  ambition  he  became  a  priest,  as  this  was  the  surest  road, 
in  that  age,  to  distinction.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Recol- 
lect order  of  the  Franciscans,  He  seems  to  have  been  chap- 
lain, in  an  early  part  of  his  career,  at  a  hospital  in  Flanders, 
and  was  subsequently  present  at  the  battle  of  Seneffe  in  1674. 
Two  years  later  he  received  an  order  from  his  superior  to  em- 
bark for  Canada.  With  this  he  gladly  complied,  as  he  hoped 
to  be  able  in  the  new  world  to  carry  out  his  long  cherished 
plan  of  discovery  and  exploration.  He  spent  two  years  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Quebec  and  Kingston  in  various  undertakings 
and  adventures,  on  one  of  which  he  penetrated  as  far  among 
the  Iroquois  of  New  York  as  Albany.  In  the  year  1678  he 
was  sent  to  join  the  expedition  of  La  Salle,  then  about  to  em- 
bark on  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  great  lakes  of  the  North- 
west.   His  subsequent  career  has  already  been  traced. 

Considerable  discussion  and  speculation  has  arisen  as  to 
the  authenticity  and  veracity  of  the  accounts  he  gave  of  his 
discoveries  and  explorations.  In  1683,  three  years  after  his 
discovery  of  the  Falls,  he  published  in  Paris  his  "Description 
of  Louisiana."  Subsequently  many  editions  of  this  original 
work  appeared.  The  many  changes  and  variations  in  these 
subsequent  accounts  have  given  rise  to  grave  doubts  as  to 


HENNEPIN  AS  DISCOVERER  AND  AUTHOR.  235 

Hennepin's  veracity.  His  first  book  was  published  during  the 
lifetime  of  La  Salle,  his  superior  officer  on  the  expedition 
about  which  he  was  writing. 

Let  us  examine  the  evidence  in  the  statements  of  his  con- 
temporaries, and  of  those  who  lived  at  the  time  of  the  publica- 
tion of  the  various  editions.  La  Salle,  in  a  letter  written  Au- 
gust 22, 1682,  probably  to  the  Abb6  Bernou,  about  the  time  of 
Hennepin's  return  to  France,  says: 

I  have  deemed  it  seasonable  to  give  you  a  narrative  of  the  ad- 
ventures of  this  canoe,  because  I  have  no  doubt  it  will  be  spoken  of, 
and  if  you  desire  to  confer  with  Father  Louis  Hennepin,  Recollect, 
who  has  gone  back  to  France,  it  is  necessary  to  know  him  somewhat, 
for  he  will  not  fail  to  exaggerate  everything;  it  is  his  character;  and 
to  myself,  he  has  written  me,  as  though  he  had  been  all  ready  to  be 
burned,  although  he  was  not  even  in  danger;  but  he  believes  that  it  is 
honorable  for  him  to  act  in  this  way,  and  he  speaks  more  in  keeping 
with  what  he  wishes  than  what  he  knows. 

The  researches  of  John  Gilmary  Shea  inform  us  that  Father 
Le  Olercq,  in  1691,  referred  to  Hennepin  and  his  first  work  in 
terms  of  praise;  but  that  De  Michel,  the  editor  of  Joutel  in 
1713,  said: 

Father  Hennepin,  a  Fleming,  of  the  same  order  of  Recollects,  who 
seems  to  know  the  country  well,  and  who  took  part  in  great  discov- 
eries; although  the  truth  of  his  Relations  is  very  much  contested. 
He  is  the  one  who  went  northward  towards  the  source  of  the  Missicipl, 
which  he  called  Mechasipi,  and  who  printed  at  Paris  a  Relation  of 
the  countries  around  that  river  under  the  name  of  Louisiana.  He 
should  have  stopped  there  and  not  gone  on,  as  he  did  in  Holland,  to 
issue  another  edition  much  enlarged,  and  perhaps  not  so  true,  which 
he  dedicated  to  William  III,  Prince  of  Orange,  then  King  of  Great 
Britain,  a  design  as  odd  as  it  was  ridiculous  in  a  religious,  not  to  say 
worse.  For  after  great  long  eulogies  which  he  makes  in  his  dedication 
of  this  Protestant  prince,  he  begs  and  conjures  him  to  think  of  these 
vast  unknown  countries,  to  conquer  them,  send  colonies  there,  and 
obtain  for  the  Indians  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  and  of  his 
worship,  and  to  cause  the  gospel  to  be  preached.  This  good  religious 
whom  many,  on  account  of  his  extravagance,  falsely  believed  to  have 
become  an  apostate,  had  no  thought  of  such  a  thing.  So  he  scandalized 
the  Catholics  and  set  the  Huguenots  laughing.  For  would  these  en- 
emies of  the  Roman  church  pay  Recollects  to  go  to  Canada  to  preach 
Popery  as  they  called  it?  Or  would  they  carry  any  religion  but  their 
own?    And  Father  Hennepin,  can  he  in  that  case  offer  any  excuse? 


236  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

As  a  result  of  Hennepin's  dedication  and  declarations  in 
this  edition  published  in  Utrecht  in  1697,  the  British  were  in- 
duced to  send  some  vessels  to  enter  and  explore  the  Missis- 
sippi. The  governor  of  Canada,  Callieres,  writing  to  the  min- 
ister Pontchartrain,  May  12th,  1699,  said:  "I  have  learned 
that  they  are  preparing  vessels  in  England  and  Holland,  to 
take  possession  of  Louisiana,  upon  the  Relation  of  P&re  Louis 
Hennepin,  a  Recollect,  who  has  made  a  book  of  it,  dedicated 
to  King  William."* 

That  this  action  of  Hennepin's  actually  took  place  seems 
to  be  incontrovertible,  from  the  fact  that  when  the  good  friar 
wished  to  return  to  America,  Louis  XIV  sent  the  following 
despatch  to  Callieres,  then  governor  of  Canada: 

His  majesty  has  been  informed  that  Father  Hennepin,  a  Dutch 
Franciscan,  who  has  formerly  been  in  Canada,  is  desirous  of  returning 
thither.  As  his  majesty  is  not  satisfied  with  the  conduct  of  the  friar, 
it  is  his  pleasure,  if  he  return  thither,  that  they  arrest  him  and  send 
him  to  the  Intendant  of  Rochefort. 

Still  later  Father  Charlevoix  said  of  Hennepin's  writings : 

All  these  works  are  written  in  a  declamatory  style,  which  offends 
by  its  turgidity  and  shocks  by  the  liberties  which  the  author  takes 
and  his  unbecoming  invectives.  As  for  the  substance  of  matters 
Father  Hennepin  thought  he  might  take  a  traveler's  license,  hence 
he  is  much  decried  in  Canada,  those  who  had  accompanied  him  having 
often  protested  that  he  was  anything  but  veritable  in  his  histories. 

In  recent  years  there  have  been  apologists  of  the  Franciscan 
priest  who  claim  that  his  statements  are  both  truthful  and 
accurate.  Notable  among  these  are  John  Gilmary  Shea  and 
Archbishop  Ireland.  In  1880  Mr.  Shea  published  a  transla- 
tion into  English  of  Hennepin's  "Discovery  of  Louisiana," 
from  which  several  of  the  citations  in  this  paper  are  copied. 
In  his  preface  to  that  work  he  says: 

Doubts  thrown  upon  Hennepin  by  the  evident  falsity  of  a  later 
work  bearing  his  name,  have  led  to  a  general  charge  of  falsehood 
against  him.  In  justice  to  him,  it  must  be  admitted  that  there  are 
grounds  for  believing  that  his  notes  were  adapted  by  an  unscrupulous 
editor,  and  the  second  book  altered  even  after  it  was  printed. 

The  claim  is  made  that  Hennepin's  narrative  is  truthful, 
and  that  the  inconsistencies  and  differences  between  the  first 


♦Smith's  History  of  Wisconsin,  vol.  I,  p.  318. 


HENNEPIN  AS  DISCOVERER  AND  AUTHOR.  237 

and  subsequent  editions  of  his  work  are  caused  by  unauthor- 
ized interpolations  by  the  editor.  Shea,  after  dwelling  at 
length  on  the  various  phases  of  this  question,  says : 

To  sum  up  all,  the  case  stands  thus:  "The  Description  of  Louisiana," 
by  Father  Hennepin,  is  clearly  no  plagiarism  from  La  Salle's  account, 
and  on  the  contrary  the  so  called  La  Salle  Relation  is  an  anonymous 
undated  plagiarism  from  Hennepin's  book,  and  moreover  the  Descrip- 
tion of  Louisiana  is  sustained  by  contemporary  evidence  and  by  the 
topography  of  the  country,  and  our  knowledge  of  the  language  and 
manners  of  the  Sioux.  It  shows  vanity  in  its  author,  but  no  falsifica- 
tion.   So  far  as  it  goes,  it  presents  Hennepin  as  truthful  and  accurate. 

A  later  work  shows  a  suppression  after  printing,  introduction  of 
new  and  untrue  matter,  and  the  evident  hand  of  an  ignorant  editor. 
For  this  book  as  finally  published,  Hennepin  cannot  be  held  responsi- 
ble, nor  can  he  justly  be  stigmatized  as  mendacious  by  reason  of  its 
false  assertions. 

The  third  book  is  evidently  by  the  same  editor  as  the  second,  and 
the  defence  which  it  puts  forward  in  Hennepin's  name  cannot  alter 
the  facts,  or  make  the  original  author  responsible. 

In  view  of  all  this,  it  seems  that  now  at  least  the  case  of  Hennepin 
should  be  heard  with  more  impartiality;  and  we  call  for  a  rehearing  in 
the .  view  of  documents  now  accessible,  under  the  conviction  that  our 
earlier  judgments  were  too  hasty. 

Shea,  in  his  "Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Missis- 
sippi," published  in  1852,  was  a  severe  critic  of  Hennepin.  His 
explanation  of  the  new  view  taken  in  1880  does  not  seem  to 
me  sufficient. 

Archbishop  Ireland  follows  the  same  line  of  reasoning 
as  Shea,  and  contends  for  the  general  truthfulness  of  Henne- 
pin's books.  In  an  address  before  this  society  at  the  "Henne-r 
pin  Bi-Centennary,"  in  1880,  he  said: 

Hennepin's  book  had  made  much  noise  in  France.  Utrecht  was  a 
great  literary  center.  It  is  very  easy  to  suppose,  then,  basing  our  verdict 
upon  the  facts  which  I  have  put  before  you,  that  the  second  volume, 
the  one  published  at  Utrecht,  was  made  up,  and  published,  not  by 
Hennepin,  but  by  some  stranger,  some  man  who  had  adopted  the 
principal  part  of  the  Paris  edition,  adding  on  certain  notations,  which 
he  got  from  Le  Olercq's  "Establishment  of  Christianity"  in  the  new 
world,  to  bring  it  up,  so  to  speak,  to  date.  * 
I 

With  reference  to  the  interpolations  about  the  discovery 

and  exploration  of  the  lower  Mississippi,  the  same  author  said 
further  in  this  address: 


♦Minnesota  Historical  Society  Collections,  vol.  VI,  p.  70. 


238  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

The  very  matter  of  these  ten  pages  shows  that  they  were  inter- 
polated. The  pages  tell  us  that  Hennepin  was  at  the  month  of  the 
Arkansas  on  the  24th  of  April,  and  yet,  in  the  following  pages,  he  is 
said  to  have  been  captured,  near  the  Wisconsin,  on  the  24th  day  of 
April,  the  date  according  to  the  Paris  edition.  Besides,  in  these  ten 
pages  it  is  stated  that  Easter  Sunday  occurred  on  the  23rd  of  March. 
Now,  Hennepin  could  never  have  made  such  an  error.  In  1680,  Easter 
Sunday  occurred  on  the  first  of  April,  and  it  is  so  stated  in  Hennepin's 
first  volume.  These  are  very  significant  facts,  which  cannot  be  over- 
looked, and  when  we  take  them  all  into  consideration,  together  with 
the  general  appearance  of  this  second  volume,  when  we  remember  him 
as  the  scholar  and  close  observer  which  the  Paris  volume  shows  him 
to  Have  been,  w'hen  we  remember  the  habits  of  literary  piracy  that 
were  then  common  in  Europe,  have  we  not  solid  foundations  for  saying 
that  it  cannot  be  proven  that  Father  Louis  Hennepin  wrote  and  pub- 
lished, himself,  the  second  volume?  This  Utrecht  volume  is  the  one 
upon  which  all  the  accusations  against  him  have  been  based,  and  once 
take  away  from  it  Hennepin's  name,  there  is  no  ground  whatever  to 
impeach. 

Let  us  examine,  on  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  critical 
estimiates  of  Francis  Parkman,  an  American  historian,  who 
has,  more  carefully  than  any  other  man,  examined  all  the  evi- 
dence on  this  vexed  question.    He  says: 

Hennepin's  first  book  was  published  soon  after  his  return  from  his 
travels,  and  while  La  Salle  was  still  alive.  In  it,  he  relates  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  instructions  given  him,  without  the  smallest  intima- 
tion that  he  did  more.  Fourteen  years  after,  when  La  Salle  was  dead, 
he  published  another  edition  of  his  travels,  in  which  he  advanced  a 
new  and  surprising  pretension.  Reasons  connected  with  his  personal 
safety,  he  declares,  before  compelled  him  to  remain  silent;  but  a  time  at 
length  has  come  when  the  truth  must  be  revealed.  And  he  proceeds 
to  affirm  that,  before  ascending  the  Mississippi,  he,  with  his  two  men, 
explored  its  whole  course  from  the  Illinois  to  the  sea,  thus  anticipating 
the  discovery  which  forms  the  crowning  laurel  of  La  Salle. 

"I  am  resolved,"  he  says,  "to  make  known  here  to  the  whole  world 
the  mystery  of  this  discovery,  which  I  have  hitherto  concealed,  that  I 
might  not  offend  the  Sieur  de  la  Salle,  who  wished  to  keep  all  the 
glory  and  all  the  knowledge  of  it  to  himself.  It  is  for  this  that  he 
sacrificed  many  persons  whose  lives  he  exposed,  to  prevent  them  from 
making  known  what  they  had  seen,  and  thereby  crossing  his  secret 
plans.    .    .    ." 

He  then  proceeds  to  recount,  at  length,  the  particulars  of  his  alleged 
exploration.    The  story  was  distrusted  from  the  first.*    Why  had  he 


♦See  the  preface  of  the  Spanish  translation  by  Don  Sebastian  Fernandez 
de  Medrano,  1699,  and  also  the  letter  of  Gravier,  dated  1701,  in  Shea's 
Early  Toy  ages  on  the  Mississippi,  Barcia,  Charlevoix,  Kalm,  and  other  early 
writers,  put  a  low  value  on  Hennepin's  veracity. 


HENNEPIN  AS  DISCOVERER  AND  AUTHOR.  239 

not  told  it  before?  An  excess  of  modesty,  a  lack  of  self-assertion,  or  a 
too  sensitive  reluctance  to  wound  the  susceptibilities  of  others,  had 
never  been  found  among  his  foibles.  Yet  some,  perhaps,  might  have 
believed  him,  had  he  not,  in  the  first  edition  of  his  book,  gratuitously 
and  distinctly  declared  that  he  did  not  make  the  voyage  in  question. 
"We  had  some  designs,"  he  says,  "of  going  down  the  river  Colbert 
[Mississippi]  as  far  as  its  mouth;  but  the  tribes  that  took  us  prison- 
ers gave  us  no  time  to  navigate  this  river  both  up  and.  down," 

.  .  .  .  Six  years  before  Hennepin  published  his  pretended  dis- 
covery, his  brother  friar,  Father  Chretien  Le  Clercq,  published  an 
account  of  the  Recollect  missions  among  the  Indians,  under  the  title  of 
"Etablissement  de  la  Foi."  This  book  was  suppressed  by  the  French 
government;  but  a  few  copies  fortunately  survived.  One  of  these  is 
now  before  me.  It  contains  the  journal  of  Father  Zenobe  Membre, 
on  his  descent  of  the  Mississippi  In  1681,  in  company  with  La  Salle. 
The  slightest  comparison  of  his  narrative  with  that  of  Hennepin  is 
sufficient  to  show  that  the  latter  framed  his  own  story  out  of  incidents 
and  descriptions  furnished  by  his  brother  missionary,  often  using  his 
very  words,  and  sometimes  copying  entire  pages,  with  no  other  altera- 
tions than  such  as  were  necessary  to  make  himself,  instead  of  La 
Salle  and  his  companions,  the  hero  of  the  exploit.  The  records  of 
literary  piracy  may  be  searched  in  vain  for  an  act  of  depredation  more 
recklessly  impudent. 

Justin  Winsor  says  that  some  time  after  Hennepin  pub- 
lished his  first  book,  according  to  his  own  story,  he  incurred 
the  displeasure  of  the  Provincial  of  his  Order,  and  that  he 
was  so  pursued  by  his  superior  that  in  the  end  he  threw  him- 
self on  the  favor  of  William  III,  of  England,  whom  he  had 
met  at  the  Hague.  This  was  doubtless  the  reason  of  his  dedi- 
cating his  later  book  to  the  English  king.  The  same  author 
goes  on  to  say  that  on  both  of  the  maps  published  with  this 
edition  (1697)  the  Mississippi  river  is  marked  as  continuing 
to  the  Gulf.  This  change  was  made  to  explain  an  interpola- 
tion in  the  text  taken  from  Membr#s  journal  of  La  Salle's  de- 
scent of  the  Mississippi. 

The  explanation  made  by  the  apologists  of  Hennepin  that 
the  literary  piracy  was  committed,  not  by  Hennepin,  but  by 
"some  stranger"  or  ignorant  editor,  is  weak  and  unsatisfac- 
tory. At  no  time  subsequent  to  the  publication  of  the  sup- 
posed spurious  editions  did  Hennepin  ever  disavow  the  au- 
thorship of  the  book,  or  that  part  of  it  containing  his  pre- 
tended discovery  of  the  lower  Mississippi.  He  could  not  but 
have  known  of  these  fabrications,  because  these  books  were 


240  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

widely  published  and  distributed  in  Europe  long  prior  to  his 
death.  He  has  left  on  record  no  word  of  denial  as  to  their 
authenticity  and  correctness.  While  he  may  not  have  been 
able  to  stop  the  publication  of  pirated  and  false  editions  of 
his  works,  the  least  he  could  be  expected  to  do  was  to  leave 
on  record  his  formal  protest  against  the  unwarranted  use  of 
his  name  in  publishing  to  the  world  pretended  discoveries 
which  he  never  made. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  these  later  and  interpolated  edi- 
tions appeared,  and  when  doubts  had  arisen  at  that  time  as 
to  the  genuineness  and  veracity  of  the  narrative,  Hennepin, 
addressing  the  reader,  says:  "I  here  protest  to  you,  before 
God,  that  my  narrative  is  faithful  and  sincere,  and  that  you 
may  believe  everything  related  in  it."  This  testimony  from 
his  own  pen  is  certainly  convincing.  When  you  couple  this 
with  the  fact  that  the  French  authorities  had  received  orders 
for  his  arrest  as  soon  as  he  should  reappear  in  Canada,  which 
orders  were  based  on  the  dedication  of  one  of  his  subsequent 
interpolated  books  to  the  king  of  England,  and  the  facts  grow- 
ing out  of  an  English  alliance,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion 
that  in  all  the  editions  subsequent  to  the  first,  Hennepin  was, 
as  Parkman  calls  him,  "the  most  impudent  of  liars;"  and  that 
these  adapted  narratives  are,  to  use  again  the  same  historian's 
words,  "a  rare  monument  of  brazen  mendacity."*  While  I  be- 
lieve that  the  account  contained  in  the  first  book  published  by 
Hennepin  in  1683  is,  in  the  main,  truthful  and  accurate,  bar- 
ring his  boasting  and  vainglorious  statements,  I  am  at  the 
same  time  forced  to  concur  in  the  conclusion  of  Edward  D. 
Neill,  a  former  secretary  of  this  society,  that  "nothing  has 
been  discovered  to  change  the  verdict  of  two  centuries;  that 
Louis  Hennepin,  Recollect  Franciscan,  was  deficient  in  Chris- 
tian manhood." 


*La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,  p.  123. 


Minnesota  Historical  Sooikty, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  IV. 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH,  AND  OF  ST.  LOUIS  COUNTY, 
TO  THE  YEAR  1870.* 

BY  HON.  JOHN  R.  CAREY. 


When  we  take  into  account,  in  this  rapidly  advancing  age, 
the  many  years,  and  I  may  say  centuries,  since  the  vast  wealth 
and  resources  afforded  to  man  by  the  great  lake  Superior  and 
the  country  surrounding  it  became  known,  their  settlement 
and  development  seem  surprisingly  slow. 

While  trading  posts,  missionary  stations,  and  other  small 
settlements,  had  been  made  within  the  boundaries  of  north- 
eastern Minnesota  at  different  dates,  from  the  first  advent  of 
the  white  man  in  1659,  yet  the  first  effort  as  to  settlement  of 
any  part  of  that  region,  by  the  building  of  towns  and  cities, 
was  not  made  until  about  the  year  1854;  after  a  lapse  of  near- 
ly two  hundred  years,  since  the  visit  of  the  intrepid  explorers, 
G-roseilliers  and  Radisson,  who  are  said  to  have  been  the  first 
white  men  to  visit  Minnesota. 

DANIEL  GKEYSELON  DU  LHUT. 

Next  in  line  of  those  early  worthies,  we  have  that  noble 
and  intrepid  soldier  and  leader,  Daniel  G-reyselon  Du  Lhut,  a 
native  of  France  and  a  prominent  and  influential  man.  That 
name  (Du  Luth,  as  it  is  better  spelled  in  English)  is  destined 
to  exist  as  long  as  the  city  which  bears  it  as  its  name  shall 
continue  as  the  great  commercial  gateway  of  Minnesota  and 
the  Northwest. 


♦Presented  and  read  in  part  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive 
Council,  May  9,  1898.  This  paper,  in  a  somewhat  more  extended  form,  was 
later  published  by  the  Duluth  News  Tribune,  as  a  series  of  articles  begin- 
ning June  12  and  ending  August  21,  1898;  and  these  were  united  and  pub- 
lished from  the  same  type,  as  a  pamphlet,  in  November,  1898,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Duluth  Historical  and  Scientific  Association. 

16 


242  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Some  prominent  merchants  of  Quebec  and  Montreal,  with 
the  support  of  the  governor  of  Canada,  formed  a  company  in 
1678,  and  organized  an  expedition  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
tinuing the  trade  among  the  Indians  in  New  France  which 
had  already  been  opened  by  Groseilliers  and  others  in  the 
preceding  twenty  years,  but  which  for  a  time  had  been  in- 
terrupted. Du  Luth,  being  a  prominent  man  and  an  officer 
of  the  governor's  guards,  was  chosen  as  leader  of  the  expedi- 
tion. An  ordinance  or  law  promulgated  by  the  governor  of 
Canada  then  existed  against  trading  with  the  Sioux;  "the 
king's  subjects  were  forbidden  to  go  into  the  remote  forests 
there  to  trade  with  the  Indians."  This  ordinance  was  issued, 
doubtless,  for  the  reason  of  the  dangers  to  which  the  traders 
and  missionaries  would  be  exposed  in  consequence  of  the 
bloody  strife  that  existed  between  some  bands  of  the  Sioux 
and  the  Ojibways  of  the  country  bordering  the  lake.  How- 
ever, the  temptation  was  so  great  to  procure  the  furs,  not- 
withstanding the  law  and  the  hostility  of  the  Indians,  that  the 
governor  general,  who  was  probably  an  interested  party  in 
the  scheme,  winked  at  the  contraband  trade.  It  is  probable, 
also,  that  among  the  Indians  there  was  some  hostility  to  the 
trade,  for  it  is  related  that  Kandin  visited  the  extremity  of 
lake  Superior  and  distributed  presents  to  them  in  the  name  of 
Frontenac,  the  governor,  to  secure  their  favor  and  to  open  a 
way  for  Du  Luth  and  his  party  to  trade  with  them. 

Du  Luth  started  on  his  mission  with  a  party  of  seventeen 
Frenchmen  and  three  Indians,  on  the  1st  of  September,  1678. 
In  the  spring  of  1679,  after  wintering  with  his  party  in  the 
woods  about  nine  miles  from  the  Sault  Ste  Marie,  he  wrote 
to  Frontenac  that  he  would  remain  in  the  Sioux  country  until 
further  orders,  and  that,  when  peace  was  concluded,  he 
would  set  up  the  king's  arms,  lest  the  English  and  other 
Europeans  who  settled  toward  California  should  take  pos- 
session of  the  country. 

There  has  been  so  much  written  relating  to  Du  Luth  that 
I  will  forbear  giving  an  extended  account  of  his  life  and 
services.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  he  was  a  leader  of  men,  a  man 
of  unblemished  moral  character  and  undaunted  courage,  a 
hater  of  the  whisky  traffic  among  the  Indians,  a  resolute  and 
true  soldier,  and  a  fearless  supporter  and  vindicator  of  law 
and  order. 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE   YEAR  1870.  243 

It  is  believed  by  many  that  Du  Luth  established  the  first 
trading  post  at  the  head  of  lake  Superior,  but  the  writer  can 
find  no  definite  record  of  the  fact.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
but  that  he  visited  and  traded  with  the  Indians  at  Fond  du  Lac, 
and  that  he  also  traveled  over  the  canoe,  route  and  portages 
between  Fond  du  Lac  and  Sandy  lake. 

FOND  DU  LAC. 

Jean  Baptiste  Cadotte,  a  man  of  influence  and  possessed 
of  a  liberal  education,  in  the  year  1792  was  employed  by  the 
^Northwest  Fur  Company,  and  was  in  charge  of  the  Fond  du 
Lac  post.  The  country  tributary  to  this  post  comprised  the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi,  St.  Croix  and  Chippewa  rivers.  The 
depot  or  post  was  then  located  about  three  miles  above  the  en- 
try of  the  St.  Louis  river,  on  the  Wisconsin  shore  of  Superior 
bay,  where  that  part  of  the  present  city  of  Superior  known 
as  Koy's  Addition  is  situated.  This  post  or  fort  was  a  col- 
lecting point.  It  was  surrounded  with  strong  cedar  pickets 
driven  into  the  ground,  the  burnt  ends  of  many  of  which  re- 
mained projecting  from  the  earth  in  1855,  and  were  many 
times  seen  by  the  writer.  The  Fond  du  Lac  of  those  early 
times  was  known,  in  translation  to  English,  as  the  Head  of 
the  Lake. 

Several  of  the  buildings  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  trading  post, 
as  it  was  later  occupied  by  the  American  Fur  Company,  on 
the  northern  side  of  the  St.  Louis  river,  in  Minnesota,  were 
yet  in  existence  and  in  a  good  state  of  preservation  in  1855, 
and  for  many  years  thereafter. 

In  1854  and  1855,  when  the  great  rush  came  for  the  con- 
trol or  a  share  in  the  site  of  the  future  great  city  at  the  head 
of  the  lake,  Fond  du  Lac  was  the  only  place  having  a  name 
as  a  town  or  village.  It  was  looked  upon  by  the  early  pioneers 
of  St.  Paul  as  a  place  of  much  importance,  as  the  lake  port 
for  Minnesota.  Our  old  pioneer,  Gen.  William  Gr.  Le  Due,  now 
of  Hastings,  Minn.,  in  his  Minnesota  Year  Book  for  1851,  pub- 
lished at  St.  Paul,  thus  mentions  it:  "Fond  du  Lac  is  a  very 
old  settlement  on  the  St.  Louis  river,  twenty-two  miles  from 
its  entrance  into  lake  Superior.  Fond  du  Lac  is  destined  to 
be  a  place  of  great  importance,  its  situation  making  it  the 
lake  port  of  Minnesota.     Steamboats  and  vessels  find  no  dif- 


2  A  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

fioulty  in  ascending  tlie  St.  Louis  to  Fond  du  Lac."  The  gen- 
eral's prophecy  is  now  verified,  as  it  is  a  part  of  the  city  of  Du- 
luth. 

TREATIES  WITH  THE  OJIBWAYS. 

On  the  5th  day  of  August,  1826,  Gov.  Lewis  Cass  and  T. 
L.  McKinney,  commissioners  appointed  by  the  United  States 
government,  met  with  the  Ojibway  Indians  at  Fond  du  Lac, 
Minn.,  and  concluded  the  first  formal  treaty  with  these  In- 
dians. It  is  related  that  a  few  days  earlier,  on  the  28th  of 
July,  1826,  the  commissioners  approached  this  trading  post 
in  their  barges,  with  flying  colors  and  music,  and  then,  for  the 
first  time,  the  O  jib  ways  of  that  region  heard  the  tune  "Hail, 
Columbia."  The  principal  effect  of  that  treaty  was  to  give 
the  United  States  the  right  to  explore  for  and  carry  away  any 
metals  or  minerals  that  might  be  found  along  the  country 
bordering  the  lake. 

In  August,  1847,  by  a  treaty  concluded  at  Fond  du  Lac,  by 
J.  A.  Verplanck  and  Henry  M.  Eice,  as  the  commissioners  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States,  all  of  the  land  west  and  south- 
west from  the  head  of  the  lake  was  ceded  to  the  United 
States.  And  in  September,  1854,  by  the  treaty  made  at  La 
Pointe,  Wis.,  the  remainder  of  the  country  along  the  north 
shore  of  the  lake  and  the  northern  boundary  of  the  state  was 
ceded. 

COUNTIES  OF  NORTHEASTERN  MINNESOTA. 

Here  I  desire  to  refer  to  some  legislation  in  the  early  days 
of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  relating  to  the  formation  of 
counties  in  the  northern  part  of  our  state.  Itasca  county, 
established  by  an  act  of  the  first  territorial  legislature,  ap- 
proved October  27,  1849,  embraced  that  part  of  Minnesota 
bordering  on  lake  Superior  and  reaching  west  to  the  upper 
Mississippi  river  and  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  It  was  quite 
large  enough  for  a  good-sized  state.  From  this  area  were 
subsequently  carved  out  three  whole  counties,  St.  Louis,  Lake, 
and  Cook,  and  parts  of  Aitkin  and  Beltrami,  leaving  the 
county  of  Itasca  yet  large  enough  to  make  several  fair-sized 
counties. 

St.  Louis  county  was  established  by  acts  of  the  territorial 
legislature  which  were  approved  March  3,  1855,  and  March  1, 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE   YEAR  1870.  245 

1856.  It  takes  its  name  from  the  St.  Louis  river,  the  largest 
entering  lake  Superior,  which  flows  through  this  county.  It 
had  a  population  of  only  406  in  the  year  1860,  and  4,561  in 
1870;  but  in  1895,  according  to  the  state  census,  its  population 
was  78,575.  This  county  comprises  an  area  of  6,611.75  square 
miles,  being  the  largest  one  of  the  eighty-two  counties  of  this 
state. 

An  earlier  county  that  had  included  this  area,  named  Su- 
perior county,  established  by  the  territorial  legislature  on 
February  20th,  1855,  was  imperfectly  defined.  Its  name  was 
changed  to  St.  Louis  by  the  acts  of  1855  and  1856. 

ROAD  FROM  THE  ST.  CROIX  VALLEY  TO  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 

On  October  20th,  1849,  the  territorial  legislature  memo- 
rialized Congress  for  the  construction  of  a  road  from  Point 
Douglas,  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix,  by  way  of  Cottage 
Grove,  Stillwater,  and  Marine  Mills,  passing  near  the  falls  of 
the  St.  Croix,  and  crossing  Snake  river  near  Pokegama  lake, 
and  thence  continuing  on  the  most  practicable  route  to  the 
falls  of  the  St.  Louis  river.  On  November  1st,  1849,  the  ter- 
ritorial legislature  memorialized  Congress,  "That  the  con- 
venience and  interest  of  the  people  of  the  Territory  would 
clearly  justify  the  establishment  of  a  mail  route  from  the 
Falls  of  St.  Croix  by  wray  of  Pokegama  to  Fond  du  Lac,  the 
head  of  lake  Superior."  The  memorial  further  represented 
that  the  distance  from  the  falls  of  the  St.  Croix  to  Fond  du 
Lac  was  but  a  little  more  than  a  hundred  miles,  that  the 
country  was  being  rapidly  settled  along  the  first  half  of  the 
route,  and  that  a  large  settlement  already  existed  at  Fond 
du  Lac,  where  the  inhabitants  were  destitute  of  mail  facilities. 

In  1854,  through  the  efforts  of  our  delegate  in  Congress, 
Hon.  Henry  M.  Eice,  an  appropriation  of  money  was  obtained 
from  Congress  for  constructing  the  proposed  road,  and  the 
mail  route  was  also  established.  Unfortunately,  however,  the 
point  designated  in  the  memorials  as  the  northern  end  of  both 
the  road  and  mail  route  was  cheated  out  of  any  direct  benefit, 
because  when  opened  and  used  they  ended  eight  or  ten  miles 
from  Fond  du  Lac,  the  intended  terminus  of  both.  The  peo- 
ple interested  in  Superior  City,  Wis.  (then  to  be  the  great  city 
of  destiny  at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior),  concluded  that  it  was 


246  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  Fond  du  Lac  mentioned  in  the  memorials.  It  may  be  that 
they  were  then  debating  upon  the  propriety  of  naming  the 
embryo  city  Fond  du  Lac,  as  a  compliment  to  the  old  trading 
post  which  fifty  years  before  had  been  removed  from  Wiscon- 
sin to  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  St.  Louis  river  where  it 
became  Fond  du  Lac,  Minnesota.  However  this  was,  the 
Superior  people,  who  were  at  this  time  largely  made  up  of 
St.  Paul  hustlers,  decided  that  they  would  not  lose  the  ter- 
minus of  this  road  and  mail  route;  so  in  January,  1854,  they 
organized  a  force  of  choppers  and  set  them  at  work  in  cutting 
out  a  winter  road  on  the  proposed  line  from  Superior  to  what 
was  then  known  as  Chase's  camp,  on  the  St.  Croix  river,  a 
distance  of  about  fifty  or  sixty  miles.  This  road  was  then 
blazoned  on  maps  as  the  "Military  Road"  from  Point  Douglas 
to  Superior.  At  the  session  of  Congress  in  that  year  an  ap- 
propriation^ of  f20,000  was  granted  for  opening  this  road,  and 
subsequently  other  appropriations  were  granted  by  Congress 
for  completing  it.  Through  the  controlling  influence  at 
Washington  and  St.  Paul  of  those  interested  in  Superior,  that 
town  maintained  its  supremacy  as  the  coming  great  city  for 
about  twelve  years,  until,  in  1866,  Minnesota  woke  up  to  her 
great  interest  at  the  head  of  lake  Superior  and  active  steps 
were  taken  for  the  construction  of  the  Lake  Superior  and  Miss- 
issippi railroad  to  Duluth. 

EARLY  MISSIONARIES. 

A  biographic  sketch  of  Rev.  Edmund  F.  Ely,  the  pioneer 
teacher  and  missionary  at  Fond  du  Lac,  whom  I  knew  well 
during  twenty  years,  has  been  written  for  me  by  his  son, 
Henry  S.  Ely,  of  Duluth,  as  follows:  "Edmund  Franklin  Ely 
was  born  at  Wilbraham,  Mass.,  August  3rd,  1809,  and  died  in 
Santa  Rosa,  California,  August  29th,  1882.  He  made  profession 
of  religion  in  Rome,  N.  Y.,  in  1827.  In  1828  he  commenced 
study  with  a  view  of  the  gospel  ministry.  Dependent  upon 
his  own  efforts  for  the  means  of  defraying  his  necessary  ex- 
penses, he  devoted  part  of  his  time  to  teaching 

In  1832  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  established 
mission  stations  on  lake  Superior,  and  Mr.  Ely,  whose  health 
at  that  time  was  poor,  accepted  their  invitation  to  go  to  that 
eountrv  as  an  assistant  teacher.     He  was  subsequently  ap- 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE   YEAR  1870.  247 

pointed  teacher  and  catechist,  expecting  to  return  in  two 
years  to  resume  his  studies,  but  the  way  never  opened  for  his 
return.  He  left  Albany,  N.  Y.,  July  5th,  1833.  On  reaching 
Mackinaw,  he  found  that  the  missionaries  who  had  preceded 
him  had  departed  with  a  company  of  Indian  traders.  He  was 
forwarded  by  Henry  R.  Schoolcraft,  then  the  Indian  agent, 
and  in  three  days  overtook  the  boats  on  lake  Superior.  At 
that  time  there  were  no  vessels  on  that  lake.  Mr.  Ely  was 
assigned  to  the  branch  of  the  mission  among  the  OjibwTays  of 
the  upper  Mississippi,  under  the  directon  of  Eev.  William  T. 
Boutwell,  and  proceeded  to  Sandy  lake,  where,  after  a  short 
time,  he  was  left  by  Mr.  Boutwell,  with  the  joint  duties  of 
missionary  and  teacher  resting  upon  him.  In  the  summer  of 
1834  the  school  was  removed  from  Sandy  lake  to  Fond  du 
Lac,  a  village  on  the  St.  Louis  river  at  the  head  of  navigation, 
where  a  school  house  had  been  built  by  Mr.  Ely.  In  1835  a 
reinforcement  of  teachers  wTas  sent  by  the  mission  board. 
One  of  them,  Miss  Catherine  Gronlais,  soon  became  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Ely.  Here  they  labored  until  May,  1839,  when  they  re- 
moved to  Pokegania In  a  letter  written  by  Mr. 

Ely  in  1881,  he  says:  'When  I  first  entered  the  mission  work 
at  lake  Superior,  that  portion  of  the  country  was  included  in 
the  Territory  of  Michigan.  After  Michigan  was  admitted  as 
a  state,  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  was  organized,  Minne- 
sota at  that  time  being  Indian  territory.  The  first  party  of 
white  men  I  saw  were  lumbermen  engaged  in  their  business 

on  the  waters  of  the  St.  Croix,  in  the  year  1838 

The  Indian  titles  to  lands  about  the  head  of  lake  Superior 
were  not  extinguished  till  1854.  At  that  time  we  had  left 
the  mission  and  removed  to  St.  Paul,  but,  being  thoroughly 
conversant  with  the  country,  I  went  to  lake  Superior,  took 
up  lands  where  the  town  of  Superior  was  located,  and  assisted 
in  surveying  and  laying  out  the  town.  In  1855  the  Indian 
title  was  extinguished  on  the  Minnesota  side  of  the  harbor, 
and  I  went  over  there  and  laid  out  the  town  of  Oneota  as  a 
commercial  site,  built  a  steam  mill  and  docks,  and  held  the 
position  of  postmaster  for  six  years,  also  that  of  notary  pub- 
lic under  the  governor  of  the  Territory.  The  financial  reverses 
of  1857  rendered  our  property  valueless,  and  in  1862  we  re- 
turned to  St.  Paul.' " 


248  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Fond  du  Lac,  now  a  part  of  the  City  of  Duluth,  was  the 
only  mission  station  established  in  that  part  of  Minnesota 
bordering  lake  Superior.  Besides  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ely,  other 
missionaries  and  teachers  were  located  there.  In  the  year 
1840  the  Methodist  denomination  sent  missionaries  and  teach- 
ers among  the  0  jib  ways  of  the  lake  region  and  northern  Min- 
nesota. In  1841  George  Copway,  an  Ojibway,  his  wife,  who 
was  a  white  woman,  her  sister,  and  James  Simpson,  were  en- 
gaged in  the  mission  work  at  Pond  du  Lac.  It  would  seem 
that  soon  after  this,  for  some  cause  many  of  the  Indians  must 
have  left  Fond  du  Lac,  as  we  learn  that  in  1849  Rev.  J.  W. 
Holt  and  his  wife,  the  last  missionaries  we  see  any  mention  of 
at  Fond  du  Lac,  had  only  twenty-eight  scholars  enrolled  in 
their  school,  with  an  average  attendance  of  only  fifteen. 

The  first  marriage  we  learn  of  as  having  been  performed 
in  accordance  with  the  Christian  and  civilized  form,  and  as 
taking  place  at  Fond  du  Lac,  within  what  is  at  present  the 
city  of  Duluth,  was  that  of  Rev.  W.  T.  Routwell  (one  of  those 
early  missionaries)  to  Hester  Crooks,  on  the  11th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1834.  Hester  Crooks  was  the  daughter  of  Ramsay 
Crooks,  a  prominent  fur  trader,  and  an  Indian  mother.  Miss 
Crooks  had  been  a  teacher  at  the  mission  station  at  Yellow 
Lake,  Wisconsin,  and  probably  was  a  graduate  of  the  mission 
boarding  school  at  Mackinaw. 

THE  FIRST  ELECTION. 

Before  Duluth  was  platted  or  had  occasion  for  a  name,  on 
the  first  Tuesday  in  October,  1855,  there  was  held  the  first 
election  in  St.  Louis  county.  The  election  was  for  a  delegate 
to  represent  the  Territory  in  Congress. 

The  election  for  all  Minnesota  at  the  head  of  the  lake  was 
held  in  the  log  house  or  "claim  shanty,"  as  such  buildings 
were  commonly  called,  owned  by  George  E.  Nettleton  as  a 
trading  house  or  post,  situated  on  the  main  land  near  the  base 
of  Minnesota  point,  about  400  feet  from  the  shore  of  the  lake, 
and  about  150  feet  east  of  First  avenue  east  in  the  present 
city  of  Duluth.  The  house  was  one-story,  about  fourteen  by 
eighteen  feet,  and  seven  feet  high  at  the  sides;  it  had  a  scooped 
log  roof,  one  door  and  one  window.    This  log  house  was  built 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE   YEAR  1870.  249 

by  Mr.  Nettleton  before  the  treaty  with  the  Ojibway  Indians 
at  La  Pointe  in  September,  1854. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  of  the  election,  the  writer, 
living,  like  the  majority  at  that  time,  in  Superior,  but  claim- 
ing a  residence  on  their  land  claims  in  Minnesota,  left  Oneota, 
now  a  part  of  Duluth,  in  a  row-boat,  in  company  with  eight 
or  nine  other  voters,  for  the  voting  place,  a  distance  of  about 
four  miles  by  land  or  seven  by  water.  There  was  then  not 
even  a  trail  by  land  between  Oneota  and  Nettleton's  claim, 
where  now  the  electric  street  car  makes  the  run  in  fifteen  min- 
utes. Had  we  then  taken  the  land  route,  the  density  of  the  for- 
est, the  crossing  of  streams,  and  the  climbing  of  rocky  ridges 
would  have  compelled  us,  even  if  we  reached  the  polling  place 
in  time  to  vote,  to  camp  out  over  night  before  our  return. 
None  of  the  party  were  then  acquainted  with  the  extent  and 
intricacies  of  the  marsh  which  skirted  the  base  of  Minnesota 
point  and  the  head  of  Superior  bay;  so  we  concluded  to  land 
on  Minnesota  point  at  the  old  Indian  burying  place,  about  three 
miles  from  the  voting  place.  There  we  left  our  boat  and 
walked  up  along  the  lake  shore  to  the  place  where  we  exercised 
the  sovereign  right  of  the  American  citizen. 

On  arriving  at  Nettleton's  "claim  shanty,'7  we  found  a 
cosmopolitan  congregation,  made  up  principally,  however,  of 
Yankees,  Buckeyes,  Kentuckians,  Wolverines,  Badgers,  etc., 
not  forgetting  Canadians,  French,  Irish,  Dutch,  and  Scandi- 
navians, with  a  fair  representation  of  the  Ojibways,  minus  the 
blanket,  but  bedecked  with  coat  and  pants,  as  an  evidence  of 
their  qualification  to  vote.  My  recollection  is  that  105  votes 
were  polled,  96  for  Henry  M.  Rice,  the  Democratic  candidate, 
and  9  for  William  R.  Marshall,  the  opposition  or  Republican 
candidate.  From  that  election  may  be  dated  the  birth  of  the 
Republican  party  in  the  state. 

At  that  time,  from  Superior,  Wis.,  radiated  nearly  all  of 
the  squatters  upon  unsurveyed  lands,  in  both  Minnesota  and 
Wisconsin.  The  people  in  Superior  at  that  time  and  for  some 
years  after,  took  more  interest  in  elections  and  political  mat- 
ters in  Minnesota  than  they  did  in  their  own  state.  Superior 
was  then  the  political  headquarters  for  figuring  and  laying 
out  plans  for  an  election  to  an  office  from  northeastern  Min- 
nesota. 


250  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

Reuben  B.  Carlton,  after  whom  Carlton  county  was  named, 
was  the  first  farmer  and  blacksmith  sent  among  the  Indians 
of  Minnesota.  He  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  about  the  year  1849. 
After  the  adoption  of  the  state  constitution  in  August, 
1857,  at  the  election  for  members  of  the  state  legislature 
in  October  following,  Mr.  Carlton  was  elected  to  the 
first  state  senate,  and  John  S.  Watrous  to  the  first  house  of 
representatives.  Mr.  Carlton  was  part  owner  of  the  townsite 
of  Fond  du  Lac,  and  was  one  of  the  first  trustees  of  that  town 
under  the  act  of  its  incorporation  in  1857.  The  other  trustees 
were  Alexander  Paul,  now  deceased;  D.  George  Morrison,  then 
and  now  living  at  Superior,  Wis.;  J.  B.  Culver,  then  living  at 
Duluth;  and  Francis  Roussain,  living  at  Fond  du  Lac.  Mr. 
Carlton  owned  about  eighty  acres  on  the  St.  Louis  river,  ad- 
joining Fond  du  Lac,  on  which  he  resided  until  his  death,  De- 
cember 6th,  1863. 

Mr.  Watrous  came  to  the  head  of  the  lake  from  Ashtabula 
county,  Ohio,  with  George  E.  and  William  Nettleton.  He 
was  then  young,  and  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  attainments 
and  force  of  character.  Although  a  new  member,  he  was 
elected  as  speaker  of  the  first  house  of  representatives.  He 
was  appointed  register  of  the  United  States  land  office  at 
Buchanan,  St  Louis  county,  in  March,  1859,  and  held  that 
office  until  January,  1860.  He  then  returned  to  Ohio.  He 
died  in  California  in  1897. 

In  the  next  session  of  the  state  legislature,  in  1860,  St. 
Louis,  Lake,  and  Carlton  counties,  constituting  the  Twenty- 
sixth  legislative  district,  were  represented  by  Thomas  Clark 
as  senator,  and  William  KTettleton  as  representative.  Mr. 
Clark  was  a  civil  engineer.  He  came  from  Toledo  to  Superior, 
Wis.,  in  1854,  and  was  employed  by  the  Superior  Townsite 
Company  to  survey  and  plat  that  city.  It  was  customary  in 
those  days  with  the  residents  of  Superior  to  live  in  Minnesota 
on  a  claim  or  townsite.  Like  other  inhabitants  of  that  city  in 
those  days,  Mr.  Clark  became  interested  in  the  location  of  cities 
and  towns  in  Minnesota,  and  therefore  concluded  that  he  ought 
also  to  have  all  the  benefit  of  an  actual  resident.  In  1857  he  be- 
came interested  in  the  location  of  Beaver  Bay,  in  Lake  county, 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE   YEAR  1870.  251 

which  was,  in  May  of  that  year,  incorporated  by  special  act  of 
the  territorial  legislature,  by  designating  the  location  only  as 
"the  territory  as  surveyed  by  Thomas  Clark"  in  Lake  county. 
When  elected  in  1859,  he  claimed  Beaver  Bay  as  his  residence. 
Mr.  Clark  died  in  Superior  some  years  ago.  He  was  a  good 
and  upright  citizen  and  a  faithful  representative  of  Minnesota 
in  the  legislature. 

William  Nettleton,  who  a  few  years  ago  was  an  honored 
citizen  of  St.  Paul,  but  is  now  a  resident  of  Spokane  Falls, 
Wash.,  and  his  brother  George  E.  ISTettleton,  now  deceased, 
came  to  Superior,  Wis.,  in  the  winter  of  1853-'54,  with  the  St. 
Paul  colony,  which  was  composed  in  part  of  Hon.  B.  B.  Nel- 
son, D.  A.  J.  Baker,  Col.  D.  A.  Robertson,  B,  W.  Branson,  B.  F. 
Slaughter,  and  others.  The  Nettletons  took  part  in  the  set- 
tlement of  Superior,  and  in  1855,  with  Col.  J.  B.  Culver,  were 
carrying  on  a  large  grocery,  provision,  and  general  supply 
store  there.  In  1858  William  Nettleton  became  an  actual 
resident  of  Duluth,  or  at  least  of  that  part  of  it  then  known 
as  his  preemption  claim.  He  was  the  first  person  to  file  a 
preemption  statement  in  the  United  States  land  office  at 
Buchanan.  He  proved  up  his  claim  and  obtained  title  on 
August  10th,  1858,  to  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  22,  and  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  north- 
west quarter  and  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  27,  all  in  township  50,  range  14,  now  a  part  of 
the  First  division  of  Duluth.  In  the  winter  of  1853-'54,  George 
E.  Nettleton  obtained  from  the  Indian  Department  of  the  gov- 
ernment a  trader's  license,  under  which  he  acquired  title  to 
lots  2  and  3  and  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  northwest  quar- 
ter and  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  27,  township  50,  range  14,  being  the  remainder  of  that 
part  of  Duluth  known  as  the  First  Division. 

When  the  crash  came  and  the  bottom  fell  out  of  the  first 
"boom"  in  Superior,  in  1857,  George  E.  ISTettleton  left  and 
returned  to  Ohio,  where  he  resided  until  his  death  a  few 
years  ago. 

William  Nettleton,  with  his  family,  continued  an  honored 
resident  of  Duluth,  aiding  materially  in  its  growth  and  de- 
velopment, until  about  the  year  1878,  when  they  removed  to 
St.  Paul. 


252  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

At  the  session  of  the  legislature  in  I860,  of  which  Messrs. 
Clark  and  Nettleton  were  members,  a  new  apportionment 
was  made,  reducing  the  number  of  members  from  thirty-seven 
in  the  senate  and  sixty-nine  in  the  house,  to  twenty-one  in  the 
senate  and  forty-two  in  the  house.  In  this  change,  St.  Louis, 
Lake,  and  Carlton  counties  were  put  in  the  Third  district, 
with  sixteen  other  counties  of  northern  Minnesota.  These 
counties  comprised,  in  area,  almost  half  of  the  state,  and  were 
entitled  to  only  one  senator  and  three  representatives.  This 
was  a  severe  blow  to  the  future  prospects,  as  far  as  legisla- 
tive aid  and  assistance  was  concerned,  of  northeastern  Min- 
nesota. The  lake  counties,  being  comparatively  without 
votes,  remained  without  a  member  of  the  legislature  for  ten 
years,  and  they  had  to  pay  for  a  substitute  member  if  they 
desired  any  legislation.  During  these  ten  years  the  counties 
of  Stearns,  Crow  Wing,  and  Morrison,  having  the  most  votes, 
controlled  and  monopolized  the  election  of  all  the  members 
of  the  legislature  from  the  district.  In  1871  they  permitted 
the  lake  counties  to  have  one  representative  in  the  house. 
In  November,  1870,  Luke  Marvin  of  Duluth  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  house,  and  took  his  seat  on  January  3rd,  1871. 
■At  this  session  of  the  legislature,  northeastern  Minnesota  was 
more  fittingly  recognized.  A  new  apportionment  was  adopted, 
enlarging  the  membership  of  both  houses,  to  forty-one  in  the 
senate  and  one  hundred  and  six  in  the  house.  St.  Louis, 
Lake,  Carlton,  Itasca,  and  Cass  counties  constituted  the  Twen- 
ty-ninth district,  entitling  them  to  one  senator  and  one  rep- 
resentative. 

Luke  Marvin,  now  deceased,  with  whose  name  I  will  con- 
clude my  reference  to  members  of  the  legislature  as  such,  was 
bom  in  Leicestershire,  England,  in  1820.  He  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1842.  He  removed  from  Cincinnati  to  St. 
Paul  in  1850,  where  he  engaged  for  about  eleven  years  in  the 
boot  and  shoe  business,  both  wholesale  and  retail.  He  was 
for  a  term  or  two,  a  member  of  the  common  council  of  that 
city,  and  part  of  the  time  president  of  that  body.  In  1861 
he  was  appointed  by  President  Lincoln  as  register  of  the 
United  States  land  office  at  Portland  (Duluth),  and  moved  to 
Duluth  with  his  family  in  1801.  He  served  as  register  for 
eight  years;  he  also,  during  most  of  that  time,  held  the  office 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE  YEAR  1870.  253 

of  county  auditor  for  the  county  of  St.  Louis.  On  becoming 
a  resident  of  Duluth  he  at  once  took  an  active  part  in  the 
advancement  of  the  interests  of  Duluth  and  St.  Louis  county. 
Haying  a  large  acquaintance  with  leading  men  in  St.  Paul  and 
other  parts  of  the  state,  he  soon  became  quite  efficient  and  in- 
fluential in  promoting  the  location  and  the  active  construction 
of  the  Lake  Superior  and  Mississippi  railroad  from  St.  Paul 
to  Duluth.  In  the  year  1855,  when  a  resident  of  St.  Paul, 
he,  in  connection  with  E.  F.  Ely,  before  referred  to,  and  H. 
W.  Wheeler,  also  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  Minnesota,  and 
now  and  from  that  time  a  resident  of  the  present  city  of  Du- 
luth, became  interested  in  the  location,  settlement  and  devel- 
opment of  the  townsite  of  Oneota,  which  in  those  early  days 
vied  with  Duluth  as  the  "city  of  destiny"  at  the  head  of  the 
lake  in  Minnesota.  Mr.  Marvin  died  an  honored  resident  of 
Duluth  on  April  10th,  1880,  leaving  Mrs.  Marvin  and  seven 
children,  five  sons  and  two  daughters. 

Mr.  Wheeler  was  the  first  who,  as  engineer  and  superin- 
tendent, erected  and  operated  a  sawmill  at  the  head  of  the 
lake.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wheeler  are  two  of  the  very  oldest  and 
most  respected  residents  of  the  city  and  county  now  left. 

DULUTH  AND  OTHER  TOWNS  PLATTED  AND  INCORPORATED. 

"Clifton,  Superior  County,  Minnesota  Territory/'  as  it  is 
named  by  the  record  of  its  plat  in  the  office  of  the  register  of 
deeds  of  St.  Louis  county,  was  platted  by  J.  S.  Watrous  on 
October  31st,  1855.  The  survey  was  made  by  Richard  Keif  in 
October,  1855.  It  was  the  first  townsite  platted  of  land  in 
St.  Louis  county.  It  was  located  on  the  north  shore  of  lake 
Superior  about  nine  or  ten  miles  from  Duluth.  The  plat  of 
the  townsite  showed  two  long  parallel  piers  or  breakwaters 
extending  for  hundreds  of  feet  into  the  lake,  indicating  a 
commodious  harbor;  but  it  was  all  on  paper;  the  name  was 
the  only  existence  that  Clifton  ever  had. 

Early  in  the  winter  of  1855-'56,  steps  were  taken  for  the 
platting  of  Duluth  by  George  E.  and  William  Nettleton,  J.  B. 
Culver,  and  Orrin  W.  Rice,  all  of  whom  then  lived  in  Superior, 
and  Robert  E.  Jefferson,  who  resided  as  a  squatter  on  the 
land  covered  by  the  plat  of  Upper  and  Lower  Duluth,  on 
Minnesota  point    This  point,  a  beach  formed  by  the  lake,  is 


254  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

quite  narrow,  and  over  six  miles  long,  forming  a  natural  break- 
water which  protects  the  harbor  of  Duluth  and  Superior  from 
the  waters  of  the  great  lake.  Through  this  beach,  near  its 
junction  with  the  north  shore,  in  1870,  the  canal,  as  an  en- 
trance to  the  harbor,  was  cut. 

In  February,  1856,  these  gentlemen  were  canvassing  anx- 
iously among  some  of  the  learned  citizens  of  Superior  for  a 
suitable  name  for  their  embryo  city  of  destiny.  Rev.  Joseph 
Gr.  Wilson  of  Logansport,  Ind.,  then  sojourning  at  Superior  as  a 
home  missionary,  under  the  home  mission  board  of  the  New 
School  Presbyterian  Church,  was  appealed  to,  to  suggest  a 
name  for  the  future  city.  Mr.  Wilson,  who  that  winter  lived 
with  the  writer  and  his  family,  informed  me  that  he  wTas 
promised  two  lots  by  the  proprietors  in  the  new  town,  in  case 
he  would  suggest  an  appropriate  name  which  they  would  ac- 
cept. He  asked  for  any  old  books  in  my  possession,  which 
might  mention  the  name  of  some  early  missionary  or  noted 
explorer  in  the  lake  Superior  country,  but  I  had  then  but  a 
few  books  and  not  of  the  kind  required.  Mr.  Wilson  set  about 
his  task  to  earn  the  reward  of  the  deed  of  the  two  lots  in 
the  great  city.  He  visited  the  homes  of  citizens  that  he  ex- 
pected might  be  possessed  of  a  library,  and  in  his  search  found 
among  some  old  books  belonging  to  George  E.  Nettleton,  an 
old  English  translation  of  the  writings  of  the  French  Jesuits, 
relating  to  themselves  and  the  early  explorers  and  fur  traders 
of  the  Northwest.  In  this  he  ran  across  the  name  of  Du 
Luth,  along  with  others  of  those  early  traders  and  mission- 
aries who  visited  the  head  of  the  lake  in  the  remote  past. 
With  other  names,  that  of  Du  Luth  was  presented  by  Mr. 
Wilson  to  the  proprietors  at  their  meeting  one  evening  in  the 
home  of  George  E.  Nettleton,  and  after  discussion  of  the 
relative  merits  of  the  several  names  submitted,  the  name  Du 
Luth  was  selected. 

Mr.  Wilson  wrote  an  article  giving  a  brief  account  of  Du 
Luth,  and  his  history,  noting  the  fact  that  he  was  one  of 
the  earliest  explorers  who  visited  Minnesota  and  the  head  of 
lake  Superior.  That  article  was  published  in  the  Superior 
Chronicle,  the  first  newspaper  published  at  Superior,  Wis. 
There  was  no  public  celebration  or  demonstration  on  Minne- 
sota point  or  anywhere  else  in  honor  of  the  adoption  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE  YEAR  1870.  255 

name,  as  some  Duluth  people  have  claimed.  There  was  little 
or  no  thought  at  that  time  that  Duluth  would  ever  attain  to 
the  world-wide  fame  and  rank  which  it  now  has.  Superior 
was  then  generally  regarded  as  the  future  great  city  to  be 
at  the  head  of  the  lake.  Even  Oneota  then  outranked  Duluth 
and  claimed  to  be  the  Minnesota  city  of  destiny  on  the  lake. 

In  November,  1857,  the  writer  abandoned  Superior  and 
located  at  Oneota,  where  he  built  a  house  and  remained  until 
December,  1865,  when  he  moved  to  Duluth  and  occupied  the 
Jefferson  house  (plate  IV),  without  let  or  hindrance.  All  the 
houses  then  in  Duluth  were  unoccupied,  and  had  been  so  for 
three  years,  allowing  the  wTriter  a  perfect  freedom  of  selection. 
The  name  Duluth,  in  1865,  was  all  that  was  left  to  the  town 
on  the  point,  and  even  that,  with  the  post  office,  had  been 
appropriated  by  Portland. 

In  May,  1857,  Duluth  as  then  platted  was  incorporated 
as  a  town,  by  an  act  of  the  territorial  legislature.  William 
Nettleton,  Joshua  B.  Culver,  Robert  E.  Jefferson,  Orrin  W. 
Rice,  and  William  Ord,  were  constituted  as  a  board  of  trustees, 
and  designated  as  the  town  council  of  Duluth.  On  March 
1st,  1858,  the  townsite,  as  platted,  was  entered  at  the  United 
States  land  office  at  Buchanan,  by  these  trustees,  under  the 
act  of  Congress  relating  to  the  entry  of  townsites  on  govern- 
ment land. 

In  1855  three  other  townsites  were  platted  within  the  area 
of  the  present  city  of  Duluth,  and  in  1857  they  were  incor- 
porated and  boards  of  trustees  appointed.  These  towns  were 
Portland,  Oneota,  and  Fond  du  Lac.  James  D.  Ray,  Clinton 
Markell,  Daniel  Shaw,  iSL  B.  Bobbins,  John  I.  Post,  Joseph 
Gregory,  and  Albert  McAdams,  composed  the  town  council 
of  Portland. 

Lewis  H.  Merritt,  president,  Wm.  E.  Wright,  recorder,  and 
F.  A.  Buckingham,  J.  R.  Carey,  and  Dwight  Abbott,  trustees, 
were  the  first  town  council  of  Oneota.  Their  first  meeting 
was  held  on  July  6th,  1859. 

In  October  of  that  year  there  was  a  town  election  by 
which  Rev.  James  Peet  (Methodist),  E.  F.  Ely,  Nels  Larson,  P. 
A.  Buckingham,  and  J.  R.  Carey,  were  elected  trustees.  These 
were  the  trustees  that  entered  the  townsite  at  the  United 
States  land  office  and  made  a  distribution  of  lots  to  the  re- 


256  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

spective  owners.  Oneota  was  the  only  one  of  the  four  towns 
that  held  an  election  for  officers  under  their  act  of  incorpora- 
tion of  which  there  is  any  record.  The  writer  is  in  possession 
of  the  original  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the  meetings  of 
that  body  up  to  August  17th,  1861,  at  which  time  it  practically 
ceased  to  exist.  F.  A.  Buckingham  and  the  writer  are  the 
only  survivors  of  either  the  first  or  second  council.  Mr.  Buck- 
ingham held  and  proved  up  on  a  preemption  claim  embracing 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  33,  township  50,  range  14, 
now  a  part  of  Duluth  proper,  Second  division.  His  claim 
shanty  was  located  at  Twelfth  avenue  west  and  Superior 
street.     Mr.  Buckingham  is  now  a  resident  of  Illinois. 

I  have  before  referred  to  the  names  of  the  persons  who 
composed  the  town  council  of  Fond  du  Lac.  These  several 
bodies,  under  the  congressional  townsite  law  of  1844,  "proved 
up"  their  townsite  claims  (to  use  a  common  phrase)  at  the 
United  States  land  office,  and  paid  for  the  land  embraced  in 
their  several  plats. 

Clinton  Markell  and  the  writer  are  the  only  representatives 
of  the  membership  of  any  of  those  town  councils  now  resi- 
dents of  Duluth.  Mr.  Markell,  in  1856,  then  a  resident  of 
Superior,  became  interested  as  one  of  the  proprietors  of  Port- 
land. He  aided  materially  in  the  early  development  of  the 
town.  He  assisted  in  the  location  and  construction  of  the 
Lake  Superior  and  Mississippi  railroad  to  Duluth,  and  came 
to  live  in  Duluth  in  1869.  Two  years  afterward  he  was 
elected  and  served  a  term  as  mayor  of  the  city,  and  is  yet 
one  of  its  active  and  public  spirited  citizens. 

Duluth,  though  narrow  and  point-ed  in  its  infancy,  was 
possessed  in  a  large  degree  of  the  power  of  absorption.  It 
has  swallowed  up  and  is  now  in  the  process  of  assimilating 
six  separate  towns  that  had  at  one  time  municipal  organiza- 
tion, first,  Portland  in  1870,  then  Lakeside  in  1893,  West  Du- 
luth and  Oneota  in  1894,  and  New  Duluth  and  Fond  du  Lac 
in  1895.  There  is  now  no  more  territory  for  Duluth  to  take 
in  on  the  Minnesota  side  of  the  harbor,  without  climbing  the 
hills,  which  she  is  rapidly  doing.  She  has  followed  out  her 
first  start  in  extending  in  length  rather  than  in  width;  so 
now  there  is  nothing  more  for  her  to  do  but  to  cross  the  bay 
to  a  dead  level,  and  broaden  out  in  the  middle  by  taking  in  all 


Minnesota  Historical  Society,  Vol.  IX. 


Plate  IVa. 


FIRST  FRAME  HOUSE  IN  DOLUTH. 


Built  by  Robert  E.  Jefferson. 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH   TO  THE   TEAR  1870.  257 

the  Superiors,  on  the  other  side.  Would  it  not  be  a  union  that 
would  be  a  benefit  for  both  cities,  should  the  future  decree 
its  aeeomplishnient? 

BIOGRAPHIC   SKETCHES   OF  PIONEERS. 

Col.  Joshua  B.  Culver,  as  an  early  resident  of  Duluth,  de- 
serves more  than  a  passing  notice.  He  was  born  in  Delaware 
county,  New  York,  September  12th,  1829.  He  came  to  Min- 
nesota in  1848,  and  was  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade  on  the 
upper  Mississippi  until  1855,  when  he  removed  to  Superior, 
Wisconsin.  He  remained  there  until  1857,  when  he  removed 
to  Duluth  as  one  of  its  proprietors.  He  was  that  year  ap- 
pointed the  first  postmaster  of  Duluth,  and  held  this  office 
in  his  residence  on  the  point.  He  was  also  appointed  by  the 
governor  the  first  clerk  of  the  district  court.  In  December, 
1859,  after  the  United  States  land  office,  in  May  of  that  year, 
was  removed  from  Buchanan  to  Portland,  he  was  appointed 
register  of  that  office,  which  position  he  held  until  the  ap- 
pointment of  Luke  Marvin  in  May,  1861.  On  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  Mr.  Culver  removed  to  Michi- 
gan, where  he  helped  to  organize  the  Thirteenth  Michigan 
regiment  -of  volunteer  infantry,  with  which  he  went  as  ad- 
jutant, and  soon  succeeded  to  its  command  as  colonel.  He 
served  with  his  regiment  through  the  war  with  the  highest 
honors,  being  in  the  latter  part  of  the  war  brigade  command- 
er under  Generals  Buell,  Bosecrans,  and  Thomas.  After  the 
close  of  the  war,  in  1868,  he  returned  to  Duluth.  In  March, 
1869,  he  was  appointed  by  the  board  of  county  commissioners 
the  first  county  superintendent  of  schools.  At  Duluth's  first 
city  election,  on  April  4th,  1870,  he  was  elected  its  first  mayor, 
and  continued  as  one  of  its  most  honored  and  leading  citizens 
until  his  death  on  July  17th,  1883. 

Robert  Emmet  Jefferson,  whose  squatter's  claim  on  Min- 
nesota point  received  the  talismanie  name  "Duluth,"  also  de- 
serves mention,  Mr.  Jefferson  in  1855,  then  a  young  man, 
not  yet  twenty-one  years  old,  left  his  parental  home  near  St. 
Anthony  Falls,  Minn.,  for  the  head  of  lake  Superior,  hoping, 
doubtless,  that  he  might  "get  in  on  the  ground  floor"  in  the 
rush  to  own  all  or  a  part  of  the  great  prospective  city.  He  it 
was  that  built  the  first  frame  house  in  Duluth,  which  was 
known  for  many  years  as  the  Jefferson  house.  It  was  intended 
17 


258  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

as  a  hotel  or  boarding  house,  and  is  yet  in  existence,  as  shown 
in  Plate  IV.  In  it  was  held  the  first  session  of  the  district 
court  of  St.  Louis  county.  In  1869  the  house  was  purchased 
by  Dr.  Thomas  Foster,  who  had  the  year  before  removed  from 
St.  Paul  to  Duluth.  The  house  was  known  for  some  years 
after  as  the  "Foster  house."  It  is  yet  where  it  was  first  built, 
on  the  lake  side  of  Lake  avenue  south,  about  500  feet  north 
of  the  canal.  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  the  sale  of  his  claim  to  the 
parties  who  platted  it  as  "Upper  and  Lower  Duluth/'  received 
some  money,  besides  some  interest  in  the  townsite.  He  was 
married  in  1859.  In  August,  1861,  after  the  breaking  out  of 
the  civil  war  he  left  Duluth,  with  his  wife  and  baby  girl,  for 
his  old  home  in  St.  Anthony  Falls,  going  back  by  way  of  the 
Grand  Portage  of  the  Fond  du  Lac,  up  the  St.  Louis  and 
East  Savanna  rivers,  down  the  West  Savanna  and  Prairie 
rivers  into  Sandy  lake,  and  down  the  Mississippi  to  St.  An- 
thony. Before  starting  on  their  trip,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jefferson 
and  baby  stopped  with  the  writer  at  Oneota  while  preparing 
for  the  journey.  It  was  considered  by  all  that  it  would 
be  an  extremely  tedious  and  dangerous  one  for  Mrs.  Jefferson 
and  the  baby;  yet  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any  other  way  for 
them  to  get  out  of  the  country.  In  that  year,  although  there 
were  not  many  people  at  the  head  of  the  lake,  those  who  re- 
mained had  very  little  left  after  the  panic  and  bursting  of  the 
boom  in  1857.  There  was  no  money  in  the  country,  nor  any 
employment  that  would  afford  a  living.  It  was  one  of  those 
"fish  and  potato"  years,  when  the  people  had  to  resort,  in 
part  at  least,  to  the  Indian  style  of  living.  Mr.  Jefferson  was 
without  money,  and  therefore  could  not  go  around  by  the  lake 
route,  nor  could  he  pay  $35  fare  by  stage  by  way  of  the  mili- 
tary road  to  St.  Paul.  He  was  not  as  well  prepared  for  the 
trip  as  Du  Luth  was  two  hundred  years  before.  Yet  he  con- 
cluded to  undertake  it.  After  a  long  and  perilous  journey, 
he  safely  reached  his  old  home.  On  his  arrival  he  found 
that  his  two  younger  brothers,  Kufus  H.  and  Ernest  R.  Jef- 
ferson, had  left  home  and  enlisted  in  the  First  Minnesota  regi- 
ment to  fight  for  the  Union. 

Many  citizens  of  Minnesota  and  all  the  people  of  Duluth 
are  doubtless  familiar  with  at  least  some  of  the  history  of 
Ernest  R.  Jefferson.     He  was  eighteen  years  of  age  when  he 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE  YEAR  1870.  259 

entered  the  army,  and  he  went  with  the  regiment  until  the 
greatest  battle  of  the  civil  war,  at  Gettysburg,  where  he  lost 
a  leg.  He  came  to  reside  in  Duluth  in  1869,  and  has  so  con- 
tinued up  to  the  present  day.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the 
city  council,  and  has  held  other  city  and  county  offices  at  dif- 
ferent times. 

Soon  after  returning  to  his  old  home,  Robert  E.  Jefferson 
also  enlisted  in  the  Union  army,  was  taken  sick,  and  died  in 
the  service  during  the  early  part  of  the  war.  Not  long  after 
the  death  of  her  husband,  Mrs.  Jefferson  also  died,  leaving 
the  little  girl,  Harriet  A.,  who  was  born  in  June,  1860,  in  the 
Jefferson  house  in  Duluth,  being  doubtless  the  first  white  child 
born  in  the  old  town  of  Duluth.  Most  probably  also  were 
she  and  her  mother,  the  first  and  only  white  females,  who 
made  the  372-mile  trip  over  the  "Le  Due"  route,  from  St. 
Anthony  to  Lake  Superior.  She  is  now  Mrs.  L.  A.  Pinkham 
of  Lake  View,  near  Tacoma,  Wash.  I  may  say  here,  lest  I 
may  be  called  to  account  about  the  priority  of  birth  in  the 
present  city  of  Duluth,  that  Miss  Jefferson  was  not  the  first 
born  in  the  territory  now  composing  the  city  of  Duluth;  the 
writer's  oldest  daughter,  Ida,  now  Mrs.  O.  T.  Greenfield  of 
Auburn,  Oal.,  was  born  at  Oneota  on  November  20th,  1857, 
and  there  may  be  others  at  Oneota  or  in  other  parts  of  the 
city  whose  births  antedate  Miss  Jefferson's. 

James  D.  Ray,  one  of  the  proprietors  and  incorporators  of 
of  the  town  of  Portland,  came  from  Ohio  to  Superior,  Wis.,  in 
1856,  where  he  resided  for  three  years.  He  then  returned  to 
Ohio,  where  he  remained  until  the  year  1866,  at  which  time 
he  came  back  to  Portland  to  live.  On  taking  up  his  residence 
in  Duluth,  Mr.  Ray  became  one  of  its  most  prominent  and 
zealous  citizens  in  promoting  and  developing  its  resources. 
He  was  ever  generous  and  public-spirited.  He  died  at  his 
home  in  Duluth,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years,  on  the 
27th  day  of  April,  1894,  mourned  by  all  who  knew  him. 

George  R.  Stuntz  came  to  the  head  of  the  lake  in  the  year 
1852,  and  during  that  year  he  surveyed  and  definitely  located 
a  portion  of  the  northeastern  boundary  line  between  Minne- 
sota and  Wisconsin,  starting  from  the  head  of  navigation  on 
the  St.  Louis  river  at  Fond  du  Lac,  and  running  south  to  the 
St.  Croix  river.     He  was  born  December  11th,  1820,  in  Albion, 


C     260  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Erie  county,  Pennsylvania;  was  brought  up  on  a  small  farm  to 
the  age  of  nineteen  years,  receiving  a  common-school  education; 
and  at  twenty  years  continued  his  studies  by  attending  Grand 
River  Institute  in  Ohio,  where  he  took  a  two  years'  course  in 
mathematics,  chemistry,  engineering  and  surveying.  Before 
coming  to  the  head  of  the  lake,  Mr.  Stuntz  had  been  engaged 
as  a  deputy  United  States  surveyor  in  surveying  land  in  Wis- 
consin. He  has  probably  surveyed  more  government  land 
than  any  other  man  now  living,  as  he  has  been  engaged  in 
that  business  for  more  than  fifty  years.  His  surveys  have 
covered  principally  the  previously  unknown  parts  of  north- 
eastern Minnesota  and  Wisconsin.  From  important  and  val- 
uable information  voluntarily  supplied  by  him,  many  have  be- 
come rich,  while  he,  withal,  in  his  old  age,  is  poor,  and  well 
deserves  a  pension  from  the  government.  He  platted  many 
townsites,  yet  I  know  of  none  that  he  ever  owned  or  in  which 
he  was  largely  interested.  He  has  been  a  continual  resident 
of  St.  Louis  county  since  1853,  at  that  time  locating  at  the 
lower  end  of  Minnesota  point,  where  he  built  a  dock  and 
warehouse,  and  where  in  1855-756  he  carried  on  a  forwarding 
and  commission  business  under  the  name  of  G-.  E.  Stuntz  & 
Oo.  In  those  years,  Stuntzte  dock  on  Minnesota  point  was  the 
only  landing  place  from  steamboat  and  sail  vessels  for  pas- 
sengers and  freight  destined  for  Superior,  Wis.,  to  which 
place  they  were  shipped  across  the  bay  in  Mackinaw  boats. 
Mr.  Stuntz  came  to  live  permanently  in  Duluth  in  1869,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  He  has  held  the  office  of  county  sur- 
veyor for  several  terms. 

i  THE  FIRST  BOOM,  FOLLOWED  BY  DEPRESSION  IN  1857. 

History  and  experience  would  seem  to  indicate  that,  when- 
ever a  new  and  unexplored  region  of  country,  or  a  point  of 
natural  commercial  advantages  where  exists  any  hope  of 
wealth  or  gain  is  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  American 
people,  nothing  can  prevent  in  such  country  or  location  a 
boom, — a  boom  in  population,  a  boom  in  wealth  and  values, 
and  in  fact  a  boom  in  everything  but  in  food,  raiment,  and 
good  morals.  It  was  so  at  the  head  of  the  lake  from  1851  to 
1857.  In  the  winter  of  1855'56  food  was  short.  It  was  too 
soon  for  a  crop  of  potatoes,  and  the  people  lacked  knowledge 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE   YEAR  1870.  261 

and  experience  in  the  art  of  catching  fish  and  living  on  them. 
Toward  spring  in  1856,  flour  brought  as  high  a  price  as  fifty 
cents  per  pound  at  retail,  but  that  figure  was  paid  only  for 
the  contents  of  a  few  sacks  that  were  packed  on  men's  backs 
from  "Chase's  lumber  camp,"  on  the  St.  Croix  river,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  sixty  miles.  Other  food  supplies  were  scarce 
and  high  in  price,  in  proportion  to  flour.  In  the  fall  of  1857, 
the  bottom,  yes,  and  the  top  also,  fell  out  of  all  the  booms 
at  Superior  and  at  all  other  points  at  the  head  of  the  lake. 
Three-fourths  of  the  people  left  the  country,  by  every  means  of 
exit  that  were  then  available.  Some,  with  gun  and  pack, 
"shot  their  way  out."  Some  who  had  families,  and  who  w~ere 
withont  means  to  pay  their  passage  on  boats,  were  taken  out 
free  by  the  generous  and  charitable  captains  of  the  few  steam- 
boats that  in  those  days  visited  the  head  of  the  lake.  Sound 
money,  or  any  money,  was  then  very  valuable;  a  corner  lot  in 
Duluth  was  not  worth  a  pair  of  boots.  In  October  of  1857 
the  writer,  then  doing  business  in  Superior,  refused  to  trade 
two  pairs  of  boots  with  Orrin  W.  Rice  for  two  lots  in  the 
now  famous  city  of  Duluth.  The  writer  believed  that,  in  view 
of  the  approaching  winter,  the  two  pairs  of  boots  were  a  better 
asset  than  the  two  lots. 

For  about  eight  or  ten  years  after  this,  the  people  that 
were  left  had  to  live  by  barter,  by  adopting  more  of  the  In- 
dian mode  of  making  a  living.  They  did  not  despise  captur- 
ing the  beaver,  the  mink  and  the  muskrat,  and  they  traded 
their  furs  for  flour,  pork,  and  other  necessaries,  which  they 
were  able  to  get  in  exchange  from  the  few  merchants  and 
traders  that  were  left  in  Superior.  There  were  no  stores 
then  in  Duluth  or  anywhere  else  on  the  north  shore.  The 
settlers  on  the  north  shore  in  Minnesota  were  compelled  to  go 
to  Superior  by  boat  in  the  summer  and  on  the  ice  in  winter 
for  everything  in  the  line  of  clothing  and  provisions,  with  the 
exception  of  what  they  could  produce  or  capture  at  home. 

One  of  the  first  deaths  at  Duluth  that  I  can  now  recall  to 
mind  was  the  drowning,  in  1859,  of  a  young  man  by  the  name 
of  Welter,  who  lived  with  his  widowed  miother  and  brother 
upon  a  preemption  claim  near  Oneota.  About  the  12th  of 
November,  after  St.  Louis  bay  had  frozen  over,  the  ice  being 
yet  quite  frail,  young  Welter  was  compelled  to  cross  the  bay 


262  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

in  the  morning  to  go  to  Superior  for  something  which  the  fam- 
ily needed  at  home.  On  his  return  toward  evening  he  broke 
through  the  thin  ice.  His  body  was  recovered  within  two 
hours,  by  use  of  a  boat,  and  efforts  were  made  to  bring  him 
back  to  consciousness  and  life,  but  without  avail. 

FIRST  SAW  AND  GRIST  MILLS. 

In  the  winter  of  1856-?57  a  small  sawmill  was  erected  at 
Duluth  by  the  townsite  proprietors.  It  was  situated  where 
the  canal  is  cut  through  the  point.  The  mill  was  not  a  pay- 
ing enterprise,  and  after  running  it  a  year  or  two  it  was 
abandoned. 

Oneota,  with  its  immediate  neighborhood,  was  from  the 
start,  in  1855  to  1869,  the  largest  settlement  on  the  north 
shore  in  Minnesota.  In  1855,  Wheeler,  Ely,  and  their  asso- 
ciates, built  a  good  and  fair-sized  steam  sawmill,  adding  to  it 
in  1856-'57  a  planer  and  lath  and  shingle  attachments.  A 
mile  above  Oneota,  in  1857,  at  what  was  then  known  as  Mil- 
ford,  another  good  steam  sawmill  was  built  by  Henry  C. 
Ford,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  now  deceased,  who  held  a  preemp- 
tion claim  of  eighty  acres  at  that  point.  This  tract  was  sub- 
sequently platted  as  the  Fourth  division  of  West  Duluth.  In 
a  year  or  two,  to  this  mill  was  added  a  grist  mill  attachment, 
where  the  settlers  who  were  industrious  enough  to  raise  any 
wheat  or  other  grain  had  it  ground.  These  two  mills  were 
kept  in  operation  intermittently  in  sawing  the  pine  on  lands  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  until  about  the  year  1866,  when  they 
ceased  running  because  of  the  total  lack  of  any  demand  or 
market  for  lumber.  Mr.  Ford  left  the  country  and  returned 
to  Philadelphia  about  the  year  1860.  The  Milford  mill  soon 
became  a  wreck,  and  it  was  finally  destroyed  by  fire  in  1868. 
The  mill  at  Oneota  remained  silent  until  about  the  year  1868, 
when  it  came  into  the  hands  of  R.  S.  Munger,  then  of  St.  Paul, 
who  removed  to  Duluth  in  1869,  and  in  1870  the  mill  was 
destroyed  by  fire. 

From  the  year  1857  up  to  the  year  1870  the  surplus  pro- 
duct of  those  two  mills,  and  also  salted  fish,  a  few  droves  of 
cattle  driven  through  in  the  summer  from  the  region  of  the 
Mississippi  to  Superior,  and  what  was  left  of  the  products  of 
the  fur  trade,  comprised  the  articles  of  export  from  the  head 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE  YEAR  1870.  263 

of  lake  Superior.  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  annual 
volume  of  those  exports.  The  two  sawmills  were  of  a  very 
moderate  capacity.  Each  wTould  cut  no  more  than  20,000  to 
80,000  feet  of  a  mixed  class  of  lumber  during  a  day  of  ten 
hours,  while  running  steadily;  and,  considering  delays  from 
various  causes,  in  a  month  the  daily  average  would  doubtless 
not  exceed  more  than  half  that  amount.  When  running  stead- 
ily each  mill  employed  from  six  to  ten  men. 

EARLY  SAILING  VESSELS  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 

I  am  indebted  to  James  Bardon,  of  Superior,  Wis.,  and  to 
Capt.  J.  J.  Hibbard,  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  St.  Louis 
county  and  the  city  of  Duluth,  and  yet  an  honored  resident, 
and  also  to  Henry  W.  Wheeler,  of  Duluth,  of  whom  mention 
has  already  been  made,  each  of  whom  navigated  lake  Superior, 
for  much  of  the  information  relating  to  early  sailing  vessels 
prior  to  1870.  The  first  schooner  brought  from  the  lower 
lakes  across  the  portage  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  was  the  Algon- 
quin. I  am  unable  to  learn  at  what  date  she  was  brought  across. 
When  she  became  known  to  the  people  at  the  head  of  the 
lake,  in  1855,  she  was  owned  and  commanded  by  a  captain 
named  Davidson.  She  sailed  on  lake  Superior  for  a  number 
of  years.  In  November,  1857,  she  was  chartered  at  Superior, 
Wis.,  by  Captain  Hibbard,  to  carry  supplies  to  Burlington 
bay  on  the  north  shore,  where  he  and  his  brother  were  about 
to  erect  a  small  sawmill.  On  her  return  to  Superior  she  was 
laid  up  for  the  winter.  The  next  season  she  was  not  again 
fitted  out,  but  lay  anchored  in  the  bay,  being  unfit  for  further 
service.  In  the  fall  of  1858  she  was  towed  to  the  shore  on  the 
easterly  side  of  Quebec  pier  at  Superior,  where  she  quietly 
rested  until  a  fire  that  destroyed  a  part  of  the  pier  consumed 
the  upper  part  of  her  hull.  Some  years  ago  the  remains  of  the 
hull  were  removed  from  their  watery  and  muddy  bed,  and 
some  of  its  timbers  were  utilized  in  the  shape  of  canes,  which, 
were  presented  to  many  of  the  old  settlers  at  the  head  of  the 
lake;  and,  to  meet  a  future  demand  in  that  line,  I  am  told  that 
an  adequate  supply  of  her  remains  is  yet  preserved  at  Superior. 

•The  next  boat  owned  at  the  head  of  the  lake  was  the  small 
propeller  Seneca,  belonging  to  Thomas  GL  Barnes  of  Superior. 


264  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

She  ran  across  the  bays  and  to  Fond  du  Lac  until  1861,  when 
she  was  taken  to  Ashland. 

The  next  was  a  scow  schooner  named  Neptune,  hailing 
from  some  port  on  the  lower  lakes.  She  was  owned 
by  her  captain.  In  1860  she  was  engaged  in  {he  lumber 
trade,  running  from  Oneota  and  Milford  to  Portage  Lake  and 
Marquette.  On  her  first  trip  out  in  that  year,  freighted  with 
a  load  of  dry  lumber  from  the  Milford  mill,  starting  down 
the  lake,  she  was  met  by  a  northeaster  and  driven  back,  and 
in  attempting  to  make  the  entry  she  ran  ashore  on  the  lower 
end  of  Minnesota  point.  The  captain  and  crew  were  all 
saved.  The  captain  hired  some  men  at  Superior  and  set 
them  to  work  to  pump  her  out  and  try  and  get  her  off  the 
sand.  After  working  at  her  for  some  time,  the  men  reported 
to  the  captain  that  she  had  large  fish  in  her  hold,  whereupon 
he  sold  the  wreck  to  R.  G.  Ooburn  of  Superior,  who,  the  next 
day  went  with  some  men,  and  before  noon  had  her  oif  the 
sand  and  inside  the  bay.  She  was  unloaded,  hauled  out  on 
the  point  and  thoroughly  repaired,  and  was  continued  in 
use  in  the  lumber  trade  from  Oneota  and  Milford  to  points  on 
the  south  shore.  In  1865  she  was  wrecked  near  Eagle  river, 
while  under  command  of  Captain  Matthews. 

Mr.  Coburn,  with  H.  M.  Peyton,  now  a  prominent  and 
wealthy  resident  of  Duluth  and  president  of  the  American 
Exchange  bank  of  Duluth,  and  E.  Ingalls,  now  deceased,  pur- 
chased at  Oswego,  on  lake  Ontario,  another  and  larger  schoon- 
er, named  Pierrepont.  Soon  after  her  advent  to  the  head  of 
the  lake  on  October  22nd,  1865,  she,  also,  was  driven  ashore 
on  the  lower  end  of  Minnesota  point  by  a  terrific  northeaster. 
She  was  driven  within  a  hundred  feet  of  the  bay  shore  on  the 
inside  of  the  point,  but  fortunately  no  lives  were  lost.  While 
in  that  condition  a  number  of  attempts  were  made  to  get  her 
off.  Mr.  Peyton  began  to  get  discouraged  as  to  the  prospec- 
tive value  of  his  venture,  and  sold  out  his  interest  to  Coburn 
and  Ingalls.  Then,  in  turn,  Ingalls  also  became  discouraged, 
and  sold  out  his  interest  to  H.  W.  Wheeler  of  Oneota,  on 
November  1st,  1865.  Here  was  the  first  interstate  ownership 
of  a  vessel  between  Superior  and  Duluth.  Every  effort  was 
made  to  get  her  off.  A  channel  was  dug  from  the  bay  to  the 
vessel,  when  at  that  time  operations  for  that  year  ceased. 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE  YEAR  1870.  265 

Here  I  quote  a  paragraph  from  the  Superior  Gazette  of  Dec- 
ember 16th,  1865.  "The  schooner  Pierrepont  was  moved  to- 
wards the  channel  on  Monday  last,  some  thirty-five  or  forty 
feet,  but  the  recent  cold  snap  has  caused  the  ice  to  form  so 
rapidly  that  it  is  more  than  probable  she  will  remain  where  she 
now  is  till  spring." 

In  the  next  spring  renewed  efforts  were  made  by  Coburn 
and  Wheeler,  and,  after  widening  and  deepening  the  channel, 
the  schooner  was  pulled  into  the  bay.  In  the  subsequent 
improvement  of  the  entry  by  the  United  States,  it  cost  thou- 
sands of  dollars  to  fill  up  that  canal.  The  Pierrepont  con- 
tinued in  the  lumber  trade  until  1868,  when  she  was  sold  to 
Samuel  Vaughn  of  Bayfield,  Wis. 

In  1864  or  1865,  a  schooner  from  Toledo,  owned  and  com- 
manded by  Jerry  Simpson,  now  a  member  of  Congress  from 
Kansas,  and  known  as  "Bookless  Simpson/'  made  several  trips 
to  Oneota  and  Milford  for  lumber.  The  schooner  Ford  of 
Ontonagon,  owned  by  Gapt.  John  Parker,  made  some  trips 
to  those  places  after  lumber.  In  1868  R  G.  Coburn  chartered 
a  tug  called  the  Agate,  of  Ontonagon,  and  used  her  in  towing 
scows  with  stone  from  Fond  du  Lac  for  the  government  piers 
at  the  entry.  She  was  commanded  by  Capt.  Alfred  Merritt. 
This  tug  is  yet  in  commission  at  Duluth,  and  is  known  as  the 
John  H.  Jeffrey.  In  the  same  year  the  Stillmanwit  plied  as 
a  ferry  and  excursion  boat  between  Superior,  Duluth,  Oneota, 
and  Fond  du  Lac.  In  1869,  Mr.  Willard  of  Ontonagon  brought 
to  the  head  of  the  lake  a  side- wheel  steam  ferry  boat  named 
Kasota.  She  plied  between  Superior  and  Duluth,  with  Capt. 
George  D.  Greenfield  as  master,  and  his  brother,  Charles  T. 
Greenfield,  as  engineer.  The  same  year  the  small  side- wheel 
steamer  Geo.  S.  Frost,  owned  by  D.  Schutte  of  Superior,  was 
run  as  a  ferry  and  excursion  boat  between  Superior,  Duluth, 
Oneota,  and  Fond  du  Lac.  The  same  year  the  small  steam 
yacht  John  Keyes  made  her  appearance.  She  was  purchased 
by  the  Lake  Superior  and  Mississippi  railroad  company,  which 
was  then  constructing  its  road,  and  was  used  in  its  service  on 
the  bays  and  rivers,  with  Capt.  George  Sherwood,  then  and 
now  of  Duluth,  as  master.  In  the  same  year  the  tug  Ame- 
thyst, owned  by  H.  W.  Wheeler  and  E.  G.  Coburn,  was  put  in 
service  in  the  harbor. 


266  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

The  steamers  plying  on  lake  Superior,  up  as  far  as  the 
head  of  the  lake,  before  1870,  as  nearly  as  the  writer  can  as- 
certain through  the  kindness  of  Capt.  George  D.  Greenfield 
of  Leadyille,  Colo.,  a  former  resident  of  Duluth,  who  was  also 
one  of  the  early  navigators  on  lake  Superior  forty-five  years 
ago,  were  the  side-wheel  steamer  India  Poline,  and,  later,  the 
schooner-rigged  propeller  Independence,  the  propeller  Napo- 
leon, the  side-wheel  steamer  Sam  Wead,  the  propeller  Monti- 
cello,  the  propeller  Manhattan,  and  the  side-wheel  steamer 
Baltimore,  all  on  the  lake  before  the  completion  of  the  Sault 
Ste.  Marie  canal.  It  took  the  last-named  boat  six  days  to 
bring  the  writer  and  his  wife  from  the  Sault  and  land  them 
on  Stuntz's  dock  on  June  2nd,  1855.  Then,  after  the  Sault 
canal  was  opened  in  July,  1855,  the  steamers  Superior,  Lady 
Elgin,  North  Star,  Keweenaw,  Planet,  and  City  of  Cleveland, 
made  regular  trips  from  Chicago  and  other  lower  lake  ports 
to  Superior  during  seasons  of  navigation,  The  year  1869  was 
marked  by  an  increase  in  the  number  of  steamboats.  Among 
them  were  the  Norman,  Atlantic,  Northern  Light,  Sandusky, 
Cuyahoga,  City  of  Madison,  E.  G.  Coburn,  and  Ontonagon. 

FIRST   RAILROADS. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  the  people  of 
the  state  again  awoke  to  the  great  importance  of  the  construc- 
tion of  railroads.  Land  grants  from  Congress  had  been  ob- 
tained for  the  building  of  railroads  through  different  sections 
of  the  state,  one  of  which  was  from  St.  Paul  to  the  head  of  lake 
Superior;  and  in  1861  a  charter  had  been  granted  to  the  Lake 
Superior  and  Mississippi  railroad  company. 

In  1865,  through  the  influence  and  efforts  of  Gen.  William 
L.  Banning,  James  Smith,  Jr.,  John  M.  Gilman,  and  William 
Branch,  all  of  St.  Paul,  wealthy  men  in  Philadelphia  were 
induced  to  become  interested  in  this  enterprise,  and  active 
steps  were  taken  in  the  survey  and  location  of  a  route  from 
St.  Paul  to  lake  Superior.  A  land  company  was  organized, 
known  as  the  Western  Land  Association  of  Minnesota,  com- 
posed of  the  promoters  of  the  railroad  enterprise.  Valuable 
lands  were  purchased  by  the  company,  at  and  around  Duluth 
and  other  points  along  the  route,  at  low  prices,  which  became 
largely  enhanced  in  value  after  the  completion  of  the  railroad. 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE  YEAR  1870.  267 

In  1867  work  was  commenced  at  the  St.  Paul  end  of  this 
railroad,  and  at  Duluth  in  1869,  and  the  last  spike  was  driven 
in  an  all-rail  connection  between  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  on  the 
afternoon  of  August  1st,  1870. 

About  six  years  later  the  road  went  into  the  hands  of  a 
receiver,  and  in  the  reorganization  a  new  company  was  formed 
and  the  name  of  the  road  changed  to  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth 
railroad.  Soon  after  the  completion  of  the  Lake  Superior  and 
Mississippi  railroad,  a  section  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad 
was  completed  from  Brainerd  to  a  junction  with  the  Lake 
Superior  and  Mississippi  railroad  at  Northern  Pacific  Junc- 
tion, now  Carlton.  The  Northern  Pacific  railroad  company, 
having  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the  line  of  the  Lake  Supe- 
rior and  Mississippi  from  there  to  Duluth,  made  this  city  its 
terminus  on  lake  Superior. 

FIRST   POSTOFFICES   AND   MAILS. 

The  first  postoffice  in  St.  Louis  county  was  established  at 
Oneota  on  June  17th,  1856,  with  E.  P.  Ely  as  postmaster.  The 
first  quarterly  account  current,  dated  September  30th,  1856, 
amounted  to  $2.46.  During  fifteen  years  of  the  existence  of 
the  postoffice  at  Oneota,  the  highest  quarterly  account  was 
$30.39,  on  March  31st,  1860.  The  writer  has  the  original 
record,  and  in  it  are  the  names  of  the  persons  who  in  1856 
to  1861  were  subscribers  to  papers  and  periodicals  that  were 
received  and  distributed  at  the  Oneota  postoffice. 

Before  the  advent  of  a  railroad,  the  mail  facilities  enjoyed 
by  the  settlements  on  the  north  shore  were  not  of  the  best. 
For  the  first  two  years,  1855  and  1856,  settlers  were  wholly 
dependent  on  Superior,  Wis.,  and  the  mails  received  there  were 
few  and  far  between.  In  1855  a  monthly  mail  service  was 
allowed  by  the  government  from  Taylor's  Falls  to  Superior, 
a  distance  of  about  125  miles.  The  route  was  through  the 
forest  wilderness  on  a  blind  trail.  The  mail  was  carried  by 
packing  it  in  Indian  fashion  on  the  backs  of  the  carriers.  I 
remember  that  in  the  fall  of  1855  one  of  the  carriers  on  the 
route  got  lost  in  the  woods  and  wandered  for  a  number  of  days 
exhausted  and  almost  famished,  before  he  reached  an  outlet 
to  civilization. 


268  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

In  the  summer  such  a  mail  service  was  practically  worth- 
less. The  mails  received  at  Superior  by  steamboats  from  the 
lower  lake  ports,  although  irregular,  were  our  main  depend- 
ence. Superior,  Wis.,  was  the  terminus  for  all  passenger  busi- 
ness at  the  head  of  the  lake  from  1855  to  1869,  nearing  the 
time  of  the  completion  of  the  Lake  Superior  and  Mississippi 
railroad,  when  docks,  were  built  at  Duluth. 

After  the  work  on  the  government  road  to  Superior  was  so 
far  advanced  as  to  make  it  passable,  a  stage  was  put  on  from 
St.  Paul  to  Superior.  On  January  1st,  1857,  a  contract  was 
let  by  the  government  to  Charles  Kingsbury  and  William 
Kimball  for  carrying  a  weekly  mail  to  Superior  and  a  semi- 
monthly mail  from  Twin  Lakes,  in  Carlton  county,  to  Du- 
luth, stopping  and  supplying  the  postoffices  at  Fond  du  Lac 
and  Oneota.  At  the  same  time  a  contract  was  let  for  a 
monthly  mail  from  Superior  to  Beaver  Bay,  Lake  county. 

On  the  first  of  January,  1858,  the  service  from  Twin  Lakes 
to  Duluth  was  increased  to  a  weekly  service.  In  1863  Supe- 
rior obtained  a  tri- weekly  service,  and  in  1865  the  Twin  Lakes 
route  to  Duluth  was  abandoned,  and  in  its  place  a  semi- 
weekly  service  was  established  from  Superior  to  Duluth,  and 
weekly  service  from  Duluth  to  Fond  du  Lac,  supplying  the 
Oneota  postoffice. 

I  desire  here  to  give  what  Mr.  Sidney  Luce  says  as  to  the 
first  postoffice  and  the  early  postmasters  of  Duluth.  He  is 
yet  in  the  land  of  the  living,  at  Kingsville,  Ohio,  on  the  farm 
where  he  was  born,  his  age  being  now  past  seventy  years.  In 
June,  1857,  he  came  to  Duluth,  or  rather  to  Portland,  in  which 
townsite  he  was  part  owner.  He  built  the  first  dock  -and  ware- 
house on  the  lake  shore,  outside  of  the  point,  near  the  lake 
end  of  Third  avenue  east.  The  warehouse  was  built  up  from 
the  westerly  end  of  the  dock,  extending  up  two  stories,  about 
to  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  lake  bank.  Then,  partly  on  the 
bank  and  extending  out  over  the  warehouse,  he  erected  his 
two-story  dwelling  house,  where  he  lived  for  about  eleven 
years,  when  the  premises  were  sold  to  the  Lake  Superior  and 
Mississippi  railroad  company.  In  the  front  of  the  dwelling 
house  was  a  large  room  devoted  to  the  public  use,  which  for 
many  years  was  used  as  the  Duluth  postoffice,  United  States 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH   TO  THE   YEAR  1870.  269 

land  office,  register  of  deeds  office,  and  the  county  auditor's 
and  county  treasurer's  offices.  Mr.  Luce  wrote,  under  date  of 
March  25, 1897,  in  reply  to  inquiries  for  information  to  be  used 
in  this  paper: 

The  friendships  I  formed  in  Duluth  seem  very  dear  to  me  at  this 
distant  day,  and  I  hail  and  greet  them  all  with  pleasure,  renewing  the 
scenes  of  the  active  and  best  part  of  my  life.    It  is  now  over  twenty- 
three  years  since  I  left  Duluth  with  my  family My  rec- 
ollection is  that  the  postoffice  at  Duluth  was  established  in  1857,  with 
J.  B.  Culver  as  postmaster,  and  was  kept  in  the  building  north  of  the 
canal,  occupied  by  Horace  Saxton  for  some  years.    Culver  held  the 
office  until  he  was  appointed  register  of  the  land  office.    He  then  re- 
signed and  I  was  appointed,  my  commission  bearing  date  October  1, 
1860.    I  held  the  office  until  after  my  appointment  as  receiver  of  the 
land  office  in  May,  1861.    I  recommended  R.  E.  Jefferson  as  my  suc- 
cessor, and  the  papers  were  sent  on  for  execution;    but  in  the  mean- 
time he  enlisted  in  the  army  and  did  not  qualify,  and  I  kept  on  acting 
as  postmaster  for  some  time  afterward,  when  inquiries  were  made  by 
the  postoffice  department  why  Jefferson  had  not  qualified.    I  reported 
the  facts  in  the  case  and  recommended  the  appointment  of  Gilbert  Fal- 
coner, who  was  duly  appointed  and  qualified,  but  the  entire  manage- 
ment and  control  of  the  office  was  left  with  me,  and  I  continued  to  act 
for  him  for  some  years,  I  cannot  say  just  how  long,  probably  to  some 
time  in  1868,  Mr.  Luke  Marvin  acting  for  him  a  while  before  the  ap- 
pointment of    Richard    Marvin  as  postmaster.    There  never  was  any 
postoffice  called  Portland.    The  land  office,  when  it  was  removed  from 
Buchanan,  was  called  the  Portland  land  office,  but  the  postoffice  always 
was  Duluth.    The  change  in  the  name  of  the  land  office,  from  Portland 
to  Duluth,  was  made  on  my  application. 

The  present  city  of  Duluth  is  probably  the  only  city  in  the 
United  States  (unless  we  should  except  Greater  New  York) 
that  is  entitled  to  the  distinction  of  having  had  at  one  time 
a  "star  route"  mail  service  between  two  of  its  parts.  In  the 
year  1866,  the  writer  was  a  successful  bidder  for  a  weekly 
mail  service  between  Duluth  and  Fond  du  Lac.  The  bid  was 
at  the  rate  of  two  dollars  a  trip,  a  distance  of  about  fifteen 
miles  one  way,  or  thirty  miles  for  the  round  trip. 

There  was  no  road  nor  even  a  good  trail  between  Duluth, 
Oneota,  and  Fond  du  Lac,  except  what  nature  made,  the  St. 
Louis  river  in  the  summer  and  the  ice  on  it  in  the  winter. 
The  bidder,  after  his  eight  years'  experience  in  navigating  the 
land  and  water  of  St.  Louis  county,  logging  in  the  woods, 


270  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

working  in  the  sawmill,  farming,  and  performing  the  duties 
and  enjoying  all  the  emoluments  and  honors  of  probate  judge, 
United  States  commissioner,  and  postmaster,  all  at  the  same 
time,  deemed  himself  well  equipped  with  necessary  qualifica- 
tions for  a  mail  carrier. 

*  In  addition  to  the  writer's  official  qualifications,  he  was 
equipped  with  that  which  was  vastly  more  necessary,  a  boat 
for  summer  and  his  large  Newfoundland  dog,  "Duff,"  for  win- 
ter travel.  Not  many  dogs  mentioned  in  history  deserve  more 
commendation  than  Duff.  During  the  winters,  when  not 
carrying  mail,  he  was  employed  in  hauling  wood  from  that 
part  of  the  present  city  of  Duluth  between  First  and  Second 
avenues  west  and  Superior  and  Second  streets  to  the  writer's 
home  on  the  point  in  Duluth  where  he  then  lived,  or  in  bring- 
ing supplies  from  Superior,  or  taking  his  master  or  mistress 
to  visit  a  neighbor.  He  would  carry  the  writer's  children 
across  the  ice  on  the  lake  about  a  mile  to  school  in  Portland. 
He  often  made  the  trip  on  the  ice  from  Fond  du  Lac,  stopping 
at  Oneota,  to  Duluth,  with  his  master  and  the  mail  bag  in 
the  sled,  in  less  than  two  hours.  Duff  toiled  thus  faithfully 
for  ten  years.  It  is  hoped  that  the  writer  may  be  pardoned  for 
taking  up  so  much  space  in  mentioning  this  early  Duluth  mail 
carrier. 

It  would  seem  incredible  that  for  fifteen  years,  within  the 
present  city  of  Duluth,  the  United  States  mail  had  to  be  car- 
ried on  a  trail,  by  packer  and  dog  train,  yet  such  is  the  fact. 
From  1855  to  1870,  the  mail  was  carried  in  that  way  between 
Duluth,  Oneota,  Fond  du  Lac,  and  Twin  Lakes.  The  writer 
can  certify,  from  actual  experience,  that  the  mail  carriers  of 
those  days  were  compelled  to  face  and  undergo  extreme  dan- 
gers and  hardships. 

DECREASED  COLD  OF  RECENT  WINTERS. 

During  the  past  ten  or  fifteen  years  the  extreme  cold  and 
rigor  of  our  winters  have  materially  modified.  In  the  early 
days,  forty  years  ago,  the  cold  of  our  winters  was  steady,  dry, 
and  uniform.  Moccasins  could  be  worn  without  having  wet 
feet,  from  the  middle  of  November  to  the  first  of  April.  It 
was  almost  the  rule  to  see  ice  on  the  lake  until  the  first  of 
June.     The  writer  knew  of  two  men  getting  off  a  steamboat 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE  YEAR  1870.  271 

that  had  been  stuck  in  the  ice  for  several  days,  on  the  9th  of 
June,  almost  forty  years  ago,  and  walking  to  shore  on  the 
broken  ice  a  distance  of  six  or  eight  miles.  Our  winters  are 
now  much  milder  than  in  the  early  days.  We  are  not  now  sur- 
prised to  see  all  the  snow  disappear  in  midwinter  and  to  have 
it  rain.  Such  extremes  would  have  been  surprising  thirty  or 
forty  years  ago. 

VOLUNTEERS  FROM  ST.  LOUIS  COUNTY  IN  THE  CIVIL.  WAR. 

The  writer  is  able  to  give  the  names  of  only  a  few  of  the 
sixteen  patriotic  volunteers  of  St.  Louis  county,  who,  during 
the  civil  war,  without  hope  of  reward,  except  the  conscious 
pride  of  the  performance  of  a  patriotic  duty,  responded  to 
their  country's  call. 

Besides  Col.  J.  B.  Culver,  before  referred  to  in  this  paper, 
Who  was  one  of  the  sixteen,  I  remember  six  others.  Two  of 
them  are  yet  residents  of  Duluth,  Freeman  Keen  and  John  G. 
Rakowski.  Mr.  Keen  was  born  in  Oxford  county,  Maine,  on 
November  20th,  1831.  He  came  to  the  head  of  lake  Superior 
in  April,  1854,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  settled  at  Oneota, 
At  the  first  call  for  75,000  men  by  President  Lincoln,  he  took  a 
steamboat  for  Detroit,  and  at  once  enlisted  in  the  First  Mich- 
igan Battery.  He  zealously  followed  the  fortunes  of  that  bat- 
tery through  three  long  years  of  hard  fighting,  taking  part  in 
all  the  battles,  which  were  many,  in  which  it  was  engaged. 
In  the  fall  of  1864,  Mr.  Keen  returned  to  Oneota,  where  he  has 
since  lived. 

John  G.  Kakowski  was  born  March  24th,  1824,  at  Konigs- 
berg,  East  Prussia,  Germany.  He  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1855;  and  came  to  St.  Louis  county  in  September  of  that 
year.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  Washington,  D.  C,  in  the  Eighth 
New  York  regiment  of  volunteer  infantry,  and  served  with  it 
for  three  months.  Then  he  enlisted  in  the  Eighth  Ohio  volun- 
teer infantry.  He  took  part  in  many  battles,  from  the  first 
battle  of  Bull  Bun  to  the  siege  of  Petersburg.  After  the  close 
of  the  war  he  returned,  in  1865,  to  his  preemption  claim  just 
west  of  Rice's  point,  now  in  the  Second  division  of  Duluth. 

Julius  Gogarn,  a  German,  whose  history  or  military  rec- 
ord the  writer  is  unable  to  give,  enlisted  in  a  Michigan  regiment 
in  1861.  He  lived  near  Oneota,  back  on  the  hill  on  his  pre- 
emption claim,  of  which  he  made  final  proof  and  obtained  his 


272  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

title  before  leaving  to  enlist.     He  is  now  an  honored  citizen  of 
Wetmore,  Alger  county,  Michigan. 

Robert  P.  Miller,  after  whom  Miller's  creek  was  named 
(which  runs  through  a  part  of  the  city  of  Duluth),  enlisted  in 
the  Fourth  Minnesota  regiment  in  December,  1861.  William 
C.  Bailey,  who  resided  on  his  homestead  adjoining  Oneota,with 
his  wife  and  a  large  family  of  children,  enlisted  in  the  Fifth 
Minnesota  in  1862.  A  part  of  his  homestead  is  known  now 
as  Hazelwood  addition  to  Oneota,  The  only  other  St.  Louis 
volunteer,  whose  name  I  can  recall,  was  Alonzo  Wilson,  who 
was  enrolled  in  November,  1861,  in  Braekett's  cavalry  bat- 
talion of  Minnesota. 

THE  TOWN  OF  BUCHANAN  AND  THE  LAND  OFFICE. 

The  townsite  of  Buchanan,  St.  Louis  county,  named  after 
James  Buchanan,  then  candidate  for  the  presidency  of  the 
United  States,  was  platted  in  October,  1856,  by  William  G-. 
Cowell.  The  survey  and  platting  were  done  by  Christian  Wie- 
land,  then  one  of  the  best  civil  engineers  at  the  head  of  the 
lake.  It  was  located  on  the  shore  of  lake  Superior,  southwest- 
ward  from  the  mouth  of  Knife  river.  Like  many  other  paper 
towns  on  the  north  shore,  it  never  amounted  to<  anything. 
Cowell  never  obtained  title  to  the  land  embraced  in  the  town- 
site.  It  was  a  wilderness  while  the  land  office  was  located 
there,  and  it  became  still  more  so  after  the  removal  of  that  of- 
fice to  Portland.  The  land  embraced  in  the  townsite  was 
afterward  entered  by  purchase  from  the  United  States. 

In  1857,  the  United  States  land  office  was  located  at  Bu- 
chanan. In  May,  1859,  it  was  removed  to  Portland,  but  un- 
fortunately there  was  no  suitable  building  that  could  be 
obtained  in  Portland  for  office  room,  so  a  small  story  and  a 
half  frame  building  was  erected  by  William  Nettleton  and  J. 
B.  Culver  on  the  Nettleton  claim,  nearly  on  the  site  of  the  old 
first  election  log  shanty.  The  land  office  was  kept  there  until 
the  appointment  of  Marvin  and  Luce  as  register  and  receiver 
in  May,  1861.  Then  the  land  office  was  removed  into  the  gen- 
eral office  room  in  Mr.  Luce's  residence  in  Portland,  where  it 
was  kept  for  eight  years,  until  the  appointment  of  Ansel 
Smith  and  William  H.  Feller  as  officers.  The  old  building, 
after  the  land  office  was  removed,  was  occupied  as  a  resi- 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE   YEAR  1870,  273 

dence  for  a  short  time  in  1861  by  Judge  John  Duinphy,  who 
was  the  register  of  deeds  of  St.  Louis  county  in  1859.  He  also 
held  the  office  of  judge  of  probate  for  some  years  thereafter, 
and  is  yet  an  honored  resident  of  Dulnth. 

It  was  in  that  old  land  office  building  that  the  first  public 
school  for  the  Duluth  School  District  No.  5  was  kept  in  1862. 
The  same  building  was  also  used,  in  the  years  1866  to  1868,  as 
the  headquarters  of  Mr.  Mayhew,  Prof.  H.  H.  Fames,  and 
others,  upon  their  return  from  their  explorations  of  the  north 
shore  of  lake  Superior  and  the  Vermilion  lake  country.  That 
old  building  is  also  entitled  to  still  greater  fame.  It  was  in 
it  that  Masonry  in  Duluth  had  its  birth,  when,  on  the  evening 
of  the  10th  of  April,  1869,  the  Palestine  Lodge  No.  79,  A.  P.  and 
A.  M.,  held  its  first  meeting.  The  years  since  that  time  have 
witnessed  the  healthy  and  steady  growth  of  Masonry  in  Du- 
luth, springing  up,  as  it  were,  "from  the  little  acorn  to  the 
mighty  oak." 

In  1870  the  old  building  was  moved  down  from  its  historic 
site  to  Superior  street  about  seventy-five  feet  east  of  the  cor- 
ner of  First  avenue  east.  It  was  enlarged  and  for  a  time  it 
was  occupied  by  Frank  McWhorter  as  a  fruit  stand,  and  was 
afterward  destroyed  by  fire. 

FIRST  SERMONS  AND  CHURCHES. 

After  Rev.  W.  T.  BoutwelPs  sermon  at  the  Fond  du  Lac 
trading  post  in  1832,  the  next  preaching  that  we  have  any  ac- 
count of  was  a  sermon  delivered  at  Oneota  by  Eev.  J.  G-.  Wil-  ■ 
son,  then  of  Superior,  in  the  month  of  October,  1855,  in  the 
log  boarding  house.  In  1856,  a  frame  building  was  erected 
between  First  and  Second  streets  and  a  little  east  of  Fond  du 
Lac  avenue,  according  to  the  plat  of  Oneota,  by  the  pro- 
prietors of  that  townsite  for  public  use  as  a  sehoolhouse  and 
a  place  for  the  ministers  of  all  denominations  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  the  inhabitants  of  Oneota  and  neighboring  settlers, 
A  bell  for  this  building  was  donated  hj  B.  W.  Raymond,  a 
wealthy  merchant  of  Chicago.  Rev.  James  Peet,  a  Methodist 
minister,  came  to  Oneota  in  1857,  and  remained  until  1861, 
preaching  there  and  at  other  points,  including  Superior.  After 
Mr.  Peet  left,  Rev.  James  Pugh,  of  the  same  denomination, 
came  and  preached  there  for  a  year  or  two.  After  Mr.  Pugh 
18 


274  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS.* 

left,  ministerial  preaching  was  quite  limited  at  all  points  on 
the  north  shore  until  1869. 

The  first  sermon  in  Duluth  was  preached  by  Key.  John  M. 
Rarnett,  a  Presbyterian  minister  of  Superior,  on  a  Sunday 
afternoon  in  July,  1856.  His  congregation  was  not  very  large. 
The  writer  was  one  of  the  number,  having  accompanied  him 
in  a  flat-bottomed  skiff  from  Superior.  His  pulpit  was  at  the 
head  of  a  table  in  the  dining  room  of  the  sawmill  boarding 
house,  kept  then  by  Mr.  Newell  Byder  and  his  family,  which 
house  was  afterward  owned  and  occupied  as  a  residence  by 
the  writer.     It  was  some  years  ago  destroyed  by  fire. 

There  were  no  church  organizations  established  in  Duluth 
or  in  St.  Louis  county  prior  to  1869.  The  early  settlers  of  St. 
Louis,  Carlton,  and  Lake  counties  were  a  law-abiding  and 
Christian  people.  They  lived  for  fifteen  years  without  church- 
es, but  not  without  preaching,  without  doctors  and  lawyers, 
but  not  without  medicine  and  law. 

The  churches  established  in  Duluth  in  1870,  with  their 
seating  capacity,  are  reported  are  follows:  The  Methodist 
church,  seating  400;  the  Presbyterian,  400;  the  Baptist,  300; 
the  Congregational,  300;  the  Episcopal,  300;  and  the  Roman 
Catholic,  200. 

On  the  first  day  of  June,  1869,  the  first  Presbyterian  church 
of  Duluth  was  organized  by  the  Rev.  W.  R.  Higgins,  now  de- 
ceased, who  was  the  Presbyterian  minister  at  Superior.  Mr. 
Higgins  had  then  for  about  three  years  also  preached  and  min- 
istered to  the  people  of  Duluth.  The  writer  is  in  possession 
of  a  copy  of  a  diary  kept  by  Mr.  Higgins,  which  was  kindly 
furnished  by  his  son,  Alvin  M.  Higgins,  now  one  of  the  lead- 
ing attorneys  of  Terre  Haute,  Ind.  To  an  old  timer  this  diary 
is  intensely  interesting  reading.  Tn  it  Mr.  Higgins  makes 
mention  of  many  trips  on  Sunday  afternoons,  both  in  summer 
and  winter,  across  the  bay  to  Duluth  to  preach  and  minister 
to  its  people. 

SCHOOL  DISTRICTS  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners  of 
St.  Louis  county  was  held  on  January  4th,  1858,  at  the  office 
of  R.  H.  Barrett,  then  acting  as  register  of  deeds,  at  Stuntz's 
warehouse  at  the  lower  end  of  Minnesota  point.  There  is  no 
record  that  the  board  had  a  clerk.     Without  transacting  any 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE   YEAR  1870.  275 

business,  the  board  adjourned  to  meet  at  Duluth  on  the  19th. 
At  this  meeting  in  Duluth  (no  meeting  place  named)  a  petition 
was  presented  for  the  formation  of  a  school  district  for  Oneota 
and  vicinity.  Six  school  districts  were  created  at  that  meet- 
ing. No.  1  was  for  Fond  du  Lac  and  vicinity;  No.  2  was  for 
that  part  of  the  country  where  New  Duluth  now  is;  No.  3  was 
for  the  neighborhood  of  Spirit  lake;  No.  4  was  for  Oneota  and 
vicinity;  No.  5  for  Duluth  and  Portland  and  vicinity;  and  No. 
6  for  the  lower  half  of  Minnesota  point. 

The  early  pioneers  did  not  neglect  the  future  of  the  rising 
generation.  Sehoolhoiises  and  teachers  came  before  churches, 
and  as  soon  as  the  preacher.  After  the  missionary  schools 
taught  at  Fond  du  Lac  by  Mr.  Ely  in  1835,  and  by  Rev.  J.  W. 
Holt  and  wife  in  1849,  before  referred  to,  the  next  was  a  school 
taught  by  Miss  N.  0.  Barnett,  a  sister  of  Rev.  J.  M.  Barnett 
of  Superior,  Wis.,  in  the  summer  of  1856  at  Oneota,  where, 
every  year  since  that  date,  a  school  has  been  taught.  The 
next  school  was  one  taught  for  a  short  time  in  the  summer 
of  1861  by  a  Miss  Clark,  a  daughter  of  David  Clark,  who  then 
lived  in  the  Culver  house  in  Duluth  on  Minnesota  point.  Dur- 
ing 1862  and  1863,  a  public  school  for  the  Fifth  district  was 
taught  in  the  vacant  United  States  land  office  building  on 
"Nettleton's  claim."  Next  was  a  school  in  a  small  building 
in  Portland,  situated  about  where  the  Ray  block  stands,  east 
of  Fourth  avenue  east  and  Superior  street,  Duluth.  Then  in 
1866  a  larger  building  was  erected  in  the  block  between  Third 
and  Fourth  avenues  east  on  the  lower  side  of  East  First  street, 
also  in  Portland,  where  a  school  was  regularly  kept  until  after 
the  new  birth  of  the  city  of  Duluth  in  1870.  This  building  wras 
also  used  until  1870  for  religious  services  and  public  meetings. 

The  first  enrollment  of  children  between  the  ages  of  four 
and  twenty-one  years,  reported  to  the  county  commissioners, 
was  from  the  school  trustees  of  Oneota  school  district  on  Jan- 
uary 3rd,  1859.  The  number  reported  was  thirty-eight  chil- 
dren. In  1860  a  similar  report  was  made  of  forty-nine  children. 

The  first  report  from  the  Duluth  school  district  was  on 
January  28th,  1861,  but  thte  commissioners'  record  does  not 
give  the  number. 

The  total  enrollment  of  children  of  school  age  in  St.  Louis 
county  in  the  year  1865  was  87,  being  49  boys  and  38  girls. 


276  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

On  February  12th,  1861,  the  school  funds  apportioned  to 
Oneota  and  Duluth  school  districts,  in  the  hands  of  the  county 
treasurer,  were  f 75.40  for  the  Oneota  district,  and  $37.70  for 
the  Duluth  district.  Those  old  days  were  the  days  of  small 
things.  Contrast  the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  Inde- 
pendent school  district  of  Duluth,  which  now  embraces  the 
territory  of  those  first  six  school  districts,  as  shown  by  its 
treasurer,  for  the  year  1897,  namely,  total  receipts  in  the  gen- 
eral fund,  including  teachers'  wages,  $348,250.73;  besides  the 
building  fund,  $28,856.09,  and  the  sinking  fund,  $107,043.32. 
The  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  1897  was  9,613;  and  the  total 
value  of  school  buildings  and  furniture,  $1,800,700. 

LOCATION  OF  THE  COUNTY  SEAT. 

From  the  year  1855  to  the  year  1862  the  fact  of  any  loca- 
tion of  the  county  seat  of  St.  Louis  county  was  a  disputed 
question.  There  was  no  law  locating  it,  nor  any  existing  rec- 
ord that  it  had  ever  been  located  by  the  board  of  county  com- 
missioners, that  body  haying  been  empowered  to  do  so  by  the 
law.  It  was  contended  by  the  Duluth  people  that  it  was 
located  on  Nettleton's  claim,  on  the  main  shore  at  the  base  of 
Minnesota  point,  by  the  board  of  county  commissioners,  but 
no  record  of  such  fact  was  ever  found.  If  any  such  action  was 
ever  taken,  it  may  have  been  by  the  board  of  county  commis- 
sioners of  Superior  county,  of  whose  acts,  if  they  ever  held  a 
meeting,  no  record  was  preserved. 

For  a  number  of  years,  persons  who  were  fortunate  or 
unfortunate  enough  to  be  elected  to  any  county  office  were 
not  questioned  as  to  their  right  to  hold  their  office  at  their 
homes,  wherever  they  lived.  For  two  years  a  majority  of  the 
county  offices  were  held  at  Oneota.  For  four  years  the  clerk 
of  the  district  court  held  his  office  at  his  home  at  Fond  du  Lac. 
The  county  commissioners  were  a  rambling  body  in  their 
places  of  meeting. 

After  the  year  1862,  it  was  generally  conceded  that  Duluth 
was  the  county  seat.  Now,  even  if  Duluth's  undisputed  pos- 
session of  the  county  seat  for  thirty-six  years  should  be  ques- 
tioned, there  is  no  point  at  the  head  of  the  lake  that  can  raise 
an  objection,  because  she  has  spread  the  county  seat  over 
twenty-five  miles,  embracing  all  the  towns,  from  Clifton,  in 


HISTORY  OF  DULUTH  TO  THE   YEAR  1870.  277 

the  old  county  of  Superior,  to  the  "Grand  Portage  of  the  Fond 
du  Lac/'  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  St.  Louis  river. 

BEGINNINGS  IN  THIS  COUNTY  AND  THE  CITY  OF  DULUTH. 

The  first  county  auditor  of  St.  Louis  county,  Mr.  Edwin  H. 
Brown,  was  elected  in  October,  1858,  receiving  only  one  vote, 
and  that  vote  was  his  own.  On  November  1st,  1858,  he  ap- 
peared before  the  county  board  of  supervisors,  then  in  session 
at  the  house  of  E.  C.  Martin  in  Portland,  and  was  recognized 
as  the  clerk  of  the  board.  He  was,  at  that  meeting,  required 
to  give  an  official  bond  in  the  sum  of  $1,000.  He  held  the 
office  for  fourteen  months  and  received  only  $32.20  for  his 
services.  The  first  yearly  salary  fixed  by  the  county  board  for 
the  county  auditor  was  on  July  12th,  1861,  at  $200. 

On  January  14th,  1861,  the  board  of  county  commissioners, 
in  session  as  a  board  of  equalization,  equalized  real  estate 
values  for  taxation  as  follows:  "The  land  on  the  shore  of 
the  lake  and  bays  of  St.  Louis  and  Superior  and  their  imme- 
diate vicinity"  was  fixed  at  $3  an  acre,  and  "land  farther 
back"  at  $2  an  acre,  and  townsite  lots  were  left  as  the  assessors 
valued  them,  at  $1.25  a  lot.  In  September,  1862,  the  same 
board  fixed,  the  values  of  the  same  classes  of  land  at  $2  and 
$1.25  an  acre,  respectively,  and  fixed  the  values  of  all  platted 
lots  in  the  towns  of  Duluth,  Rice's  Point,  Oneota,  and  Fond 
du  Lac,  at  $1  a  lot. 

In  the  year  1860  the  total  valuation  of  personal  property 
in  St.  Louis  county  was  $9,620,;  in  1861  it  was  $4,726;  in  1862, 
$5,000;  in  1863,  not  reported;  and  in  1864,  $2,179.  The  total 
real  estate  values  for  1860  were  $96,836.76;  and  for  1864, 
$108,927.00. 

In  the  year  1870  the  population  of  St.  Louis  county  was 
4,561,  of  which  number  Duluth  had  3,131.  Carlton  county  had 
286  inhabitants;  and  Lake  county,  135.  In  the  same  year  the 
total  valuation  of  real  and  personal  property  in  St.  Louis 
county  was  $220,693;  the  total  taxes  levied,  $7,955;  and  the 
total  debt,  $5,212. 

The  first  deed  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  register  of  deeds 
of  St.  Louis  county  was  a  quitclaim  deed  from  Rion  H.  Bacon 
to  Edmund  F.  Ely,  for  the  townsite  of  Oneota.  It  was  re- 
corded on  June  6th,  1856,  and  the  consideration  was  $1,500. 


278  MINNESOTA  HISTOKICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

The  record,  of  the  first  couple  married  in  Duluth  is  typical 
of  the  union  of  Duluth  and  Portland:  "By  Rev.  J.  M.  Barrett 
(of  Superior,  Wis.),  on  April  12th,  1859,  William  Epler,  a  resi- 
dent of  Portland,  and  Jennie  A.  Woodman,  resident  of  Du- 
luth," in  the  presence  of  J.  B.  Culver  and  E.  O.  Martin. 

The  first  issue  of  a  newspaper  published  at  Duluth  was 
the  Duluth  Minnesotian,  April  24th,  1869,  with  Dr.  Thomas 
Foster  as  editor.  He  came  to  Duluth  the  year  before  from 
St.  Paul,  where  he  had  for  some  years  edited  the  St.  Paul 
Minnesotian.  The  office  of  publication  of  the  Duluth  Minne- 
sotian was  an  old  building  on  the  westerly  side  of  Lake  ave- 
nue, about  a  block  north  of  where  the  canal  now  is.  The  pa- 
per soon  passed  from  the  doctor's  control,  and  in  a  few  years 
it  ceased  to  exist. 

The  remarkable  growth  of  Duluth  dates  from  its  first  city 
charter,  granted  by  an  act  of  the  state  legislature,  approved 
March  6th,  1870. 

At  the  first  city  election,  held  on  April  4th,  1870,  there 
were  448  votes  polled,  of  which  Col.  J.  B.  Culver,  Democrat, 
had  241,  and  John  C.  Hunter,  Republican,  had  205,  for  mayor, 
with  two  scattering  votes.  George  C.  Stone  was  elected  as 
the  first  city  treasurer;  Orlando  Luce  as  the  first  city  comp- 
troller; and  Henry  Silby  as  the  first  city  justice.  All  the 
other  officers  were  appointed  by  the  mayor  and  city  council. 

This  paper  has  extended  far  beyond  the  limit  at  first  de- 
signed by  the  writer,  when  he  undertook  the  task.  It  records 
portions  of  the  early  history  of  Duluth  and  northeastern  Min- 
nesota which  may  be  of  interest  to  coming  generations. 

For  the  time  since  the  birth  of  the  new  city  of  Duluth  in 
1870,  the  writer  hopes  that  some  one  of  the  many  of  its  resi- 
dents who  have  lived  in  the  city  from  that  date,  having  better 
qualifications  for  the  work  than  he,  will  write  the  history 
of  its  struggles  during  its  first  ten  years,  and  of  its  steady 
and  substantial  growth  since  1880  to  the  present  time. 


THE  EARLY  SETTLEMENT  AND  HISTORY  OF 
REDWOOD  COUNTY.* 


BY  HON.  ORLANDO  B.  TURRELL. 


The  act  creating  Redwood  county  was  passed  by  the  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature  of  1862,  and  a  second  act  changing  and 
defining  its  boundaries  and  providing  for  its  civil  organization 
was  passed  in  1865.  This  area  had  previously  formed  a  part 
of  Brown  county,  and  earlier  of  Blue  Earth  county.  The 
boundaries  of  Redwood  county,  as  established  by  these  acts, 
reached  to  the  west  line  of  the  state  and  northwest  to  Big 
Stone  lake.  At  later  dates,  the  counties  of  Lyon,  Lincoln, 
Yellow  Medicine,  and  Lac  qui  Parle,  have  been  formed  from 
the  territory  originally  included  in  this  county.  Its  present 
area,  which  it  has  had  since  1871,  comprises  nearly  twenty- 
five  townships  of  the  government  surveys,  including  five  frag- 
ment al  townships  on  the  northeast  adjoining  the  Minnesota 
river. 

In  the  organization  of  most  counties  in  the  state,  the  fact 
of  prior  ownership  and  occupation  by  Indian  tribes  is  taken 
for  granted;  but  in  the  case  of  Redwood  county,  because  a 
part  of  its  territory  had  already  been  occupied  by  farms  with 
houses,  plowed  lands  in  crop,  and  a  fairly  developed  agricul- 
tural industry,  it  is  necessary  to  revert  to  previous  conditions 
in  order  to  have  a  full  understanding  of  its  history. 

In  the  years  1856  to  1858  the  United  States  government, 
under  the  influence  of  those  who  believed  that  the  Indian 
should  be  given  the  opportunity  to  become  a  citizen,  and  that 
the  true  policy  for  the  management  of  the  wards  of  the  nation 
was  through  their  adoption  of  habits  of  industry  which  should 

♦Read  at  the  monthly  meeting-  of  the  Executive  Council,  May  9,  1898. 


280  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

lead  to  self-support  and  independence,  inaugurated  the  policy 
of  building  houses,  breaking  up  land,  and  furnishing  teams, 
implements,  and  such  other  supplies  as  were  necessary  to  en- 
able the  Indian  to  have  a  fixed  home  and  adopt  the  habits  of 
civilization.  Among  the  reservations  set  apart  for  this  pur- 
pose was  the  Sioux  Indian  reservation  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Minnesota  river,  a  strip  of  an  average  width  of  ten  miles  and 
extending  from  a  short  distance  above  New  Ulm  to  Big  Stone 
lake. 

There  were  over  6,000  Indians  on  the  reservation  at  the 
time  of  the  outbreak  in  1862,  known  as  the  "Annuity  Sioux  In- 
dians," divided  between  the  upper  agencies  at  Lac  qui  Parle 
and  Yellow  Medicine  and  the  Lower  Sioux  Agency  in  what  is 
now  the  town  of  Sherman  in  Redwood  county.  There  was  a 
superintendent  at  each  agency,  and  a  thorough  system  of 
farming  had  been  established  prior  to  the  outbreak,  which 
gave  promise  at  an  early  day  to  make  the  Indian  both  self-re- 
specting and  independent.  At  the  Lower  Agency  the  govern- 
ment buildings,  with  the  trading  posts  of  Messrs.  Robert, 
Forbes,  and  Myrick,  formed  quite  a  village.  In  that  vicinity 
about  800  acres  of  land  had  been  broken  up,  comfortable  brick 
houses  had  been  built,  and  altogether  the  outlook  was  promis- 
ing for  the  success  of  the  effort  to  lift  the  red  man  to  a  higher 
plane  of  existence.  "The  hopes  of  the  philanthropist  and  Chris- 
tian beat  high.  They  believed  the  day  was  not  far  distant 
when  it  could  be  said  that  the  Sioux  Indian  as  a  race  not  only 
could  be  civilized,  but  there  were  whole  tribes  who  were  civil- 
ized, and  had  abandoned  the  chase  and  the  war  path  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  and  the  arts  of  peace;  and  that  the  jug- 
gleries and  sorceries  of  the  medicine  man  had  been  abandoned 
for  the  milder  teaching  of  the  missionaries  of  the  cross."  How 
their  high  hopes  were  blasted  by  the  uprising  and  massacre 
of  1862  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  recite,  as  the 
subject  is  only  introduced  to  show  that,  previous  to  its  settle- 
ment by  the  white  man,  Redwood  county  has  a  history  of  set- 
tlement and  cultivation  as  well  as  of  rapine,  plunder  and 

blood. 

* 

Redwood  county  took  its  name  fromi  Redwood  river,  which 
rises  in  Lincoln  and  Pipestone  counties  and  flows  easterly 
across  this  county  into  the  Minnesota,  below  Redwood  Falls. 


HISTORY  OF  REDWOOD  COUNTY.  281 

There  is  a  frontage  of  about  twenty-seven  miles  on  the  Minne- 
sota riyer.  Along  this  river,  at  the  time  of  the  first  settle- 
ment, there  were  considerable  tracts  of  timber,  which,  with  a 
few  other  tracts  on  the  Cottonwood  river  and  some  small 
groves,  furnished  the  wood  and  lumber  supplies  for  the  pio- 
neers. The  remaining  portion  of  the  land  was  a  gently  undu- 
lating prairie,  with  a  deep  soil  of  black  loami  underlain  by  clay; 
For  general  farming  purposes,  it  may  be  classed  as  equal  to 
any  in  the  state.  There  were  at  the  first  a  great  many  sloughs 
and  a  number  of  what  were  considered  permanent  lakes;  but 
cultivation  of  the  adjoining  lands  and  change  of  the  seasons 
have  made  meadows  of  the  greater  number  of  the  sloughs, 
and  it  can  now  be  seen  that  within  a  few  years  not  a  perma- 
nent lake  of  any  size  will  remain.  The  first  requirement  of 
the  new  settler  was  timber  and  water,  and  so  we  find  that  the 
Minnesota  river  formed  a  natural  base  for  the  settlement  of 
the  valley;  for,  though  the  open  prairie  lands  were  more  easily 
brought  under  cultivation,  the  first  settlers,  practically  help- 
less for  want  of  transportation,  kept  near  to  timber,  which 
was  necessary  both  for  fuel  and  building  purposes. 

The  first  settlers  in  Redwood  county  were  Col.  Samuel  Mc- 
Phail,  O.  C.  Martin,  John  B.  Thompson,  T.  W.  Caster,  Orrin 
Fletcher,  and  John  W.  Dunlap,  who  arrived  at  the  Falls  of  the 
Redwood  on  May  2nd,  1864.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  notwith- 
standing the  punishment  and  forcible  expulsion  of  the  hostile 
Indians,  enough  remained  skulking  in  the  woods  and  about 
the  county  to  keep  the  whites  in  a  constant  state  of  alarm. 
We  find  that  these  first  settlers  at  once  on  their  arrival  began 
the  erection  of  temporary  sleeping  quarters  built  of  logs  and 
banked  up  with  sods;  that  this  was  followed  by  a  block  house 
16  by  24  feet  in  area  and  high  enough  to  give  sleeping  quarters 
upstairs;  and  that  afterward  a  stockade  150  by  200  feet  was 
built,  inside  of  which  three  or  four  other  houses  were  built 
from  time  to  time  to  accommodate  the  newcomers.  All  had  the 
feeling  that  it  was  unsafe  to  risk  living  on  the  claims  which 
they  took  in  the  vicinity  a  little  later.  Col.  McPhail  says  in 
a  letter:  "May  16th  our  post  was  reinforced  by  the  arrival 
of  Capt  Ed.  Post  and  Frank  Kennedy.  They  took  claims  on 
the  west  side,  known  as  the  Cook  place.  They  planted  pota- 
toes, corn,  and  melons.    This  was  the  only  planting  done  that 


282  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

season  in  the  colony.    Messrs.  Post  and  Kennedy  assisted  in 
building  the  stockade,  but  did  not  remain  permanently." 

The  record  shows  the  name  of  John  S.  Gr.  Honner  as  the 
next  arrival,  and  soon  David  Watson  came  in  and  built  a  small 
house  inside  the  stockade.  Jacob  Tippery  and  Oeorge  Spang- 
ler  also  arrived  about  this  time. 

There  is  evidence,  in  Col.  McPhaiPs  letters,  that  the  few  ] 
Indians  still  remaining  in  the  vicinity  kept  the  little  colony 
constantly  on  the  alert  during  the  whole  of  this  first  summer. 
On  May  24th  to  Col.  Pfaender,  in  command  at  Fort  Kidgely, 
he  says:  "There  are  in  this  vicinity  six  or  eight  straggling 
Indians.  If  you  could  send  up  ten  or  twelve  cavalry  for  a 
few  days,  with  our  aid  I  feel  confident  we  could  capture  them." 
On  June  2nd  he  wrote  to  Gen.  Sibley:  "We  are  and  have  been 
greatly  annoyed  by  small  bands  of  prowling  Indians.  We 
would  respectfully  ask,  if  not  inconsistent  with  the  public 
service,  that  you  grant  us  a  small  detachment  of  troops/' 
Again,  under  date  of  June  14th,  to  the  adjutant  general,  Oscar 
Malmros,  he  says :  "Send  me  to  Fort  Ridgely  twenty  Spring- 
field rifles;  also,  1,000  round  ball  cartridges.  Should  we  use 
these  cartridges,  we  will  pay  for  them  with  scalps,  that  is,  if 
the  bounty  of  $200  still  holds  good;  if  not,  then  charge  them 
to  the  good  of  the  service."  The  authorities  responded  to  the 
appeals  by  sending  guns  and  ammunition  on  July  28th,  and, 
on  December  12th,  a  squad  of  twelve  ex-rebels  for  guard  duty. 
In  the  early  fall  the  settlers  were  reinforced  by  the  arrival 
of  A.  W.  Webster,  J.  W.  Harkness,  and  Birney  Flynn. 

On  July  12th  the  little  community  began  to  feel  the  want 
of  a  postoffice  and  petitioned  the  postmaster  general,  setting 
forth  that  they  were  twenty-two  miles  from  the  nearest  office 
and  praying  that  an  office  be  established  at  Redwood  Falls, 
which  petition  was  granted  in  the  fall,  John  R  Thompson 
being  appointed  postmaster. 

The  presidential  election  of  1864  was  approaching  and 
the  hardy  pioneers,  not  desiring  to  be  disfranchised,  petitioned 
Governor  Miller  for  the  establishment  of  an  election  district, 
in  pursuance  of  which  the  governor  set  off  the  whole  county, 
as  it  was  afterward  organized,  including  the  present  county 
with  Lyon,  Lincoln,  Yellow  Medicine,  and  Lac  qui  Parle  coun- 
ties, as  such  district.    The  election  of  1864  was  held  at  the 


HISTORY  OF  REDWOOD  COUNTY. 

house  of  John  S.  G-.  Honner  inside  the  stockade;  the  election 
board  being  O.  C.  Martin,  T.  W.  Caster,  and  Ed  McCormick. 
In  reference  to  the  election  Col.  McPhail  says:  "We  cast 
sixty-five  votes,  all  straight  Eepublican;  no  intimidation,  no 
bulldozing."  The  United  States  government  had  the  lands  in 
the  county  surveyed  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1864,  and 
that  fact  may  explain  where  a  part  of  the  sixty-five  votes 
came  from,  as  the  roster  does  not  show  that  number  of  perma- 
nent settlers. 

Col.  McPhail  and  T.  W.  Caster  took  the  claims  on  which 
the  original  town  of  Redwood  Falls  w7as  located,  and  later 
McPhail  bought  out  Caster  and  had  the  village  platted  into 
four  hundred  lots  which  were  sold  in  shares  of  twenty  lots 
each  at  $100  a  share.  Among  the  other  settlers  who  entered 
claims  in  this  vicinity,  O.  C.  Martin  and  Edmund  Fosgate 
located  about  two  and  a  half  miles  southwest  of  the  village, 
and  John  S.  G-.  Honner  two  miles  north,  all  on  the  Redwood 
river.  The  land,  having  been  surveyed,  was  appraised  by 
commissioners  in  the  fall  of  1864,  who  valued  the  most  of  it  at 
$1.25  per  acre;  though  some  special  tracts  and  timber  lands, 
with  those  on  which  improvements  had  been  made,  were  rated 
from  $2.50  to  $5  per  acre. 

The  first  permanent  officers  of  the  county  were  elected  in 
November,  1865.  O.  C.  Martin,  chairman,  Hugh  Currie,  and 
John  Winters,  were  commissioners;  Edward  March  was  au- 
ditor; L.  M.  Baker,  register  of  deeds;  Jacob  Tippery,  treas- 
urer; Samuel  McPhail,  clerk  of  court  and  county  attorney; 
and  Norman  Webster,  sheriff.  The  county  seat  was  estab- 
lished at  Redwood  Falls,  at  the  same  election.  As  noted 
above,  Gov.  Miller  had  set  off  what  now  comprises  live  coun- 
ties as  an  election  district,  which  surely  could  not  interfere 
with  the  right  of  the  voter;  but  attention  is  called  to  a  pecul- 
iar feature  of  this  early  arrangement,  granting  to  all  voters 
living  in  unorganized  townships  the  right  to  vote  in  the  village 
of  Redwood  Falls,  which  right  continued  as  late  as  1882. 

The  first  term  of  court  held  in  the  county  was  at  Redwood 
Falls  over  the  store  building  of  Louis  Robert,  beginning  June 
18th,  1867,  for  the  trial  of  what  are  known  as  the  New  Ulm 
murder  cases.  The  trial  had  been  removed  from  Brown  county 
because  the  presiding  judge,  Hon.  Horace  Austin,  found  public 


284  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

sentiment  too  much  prejudiced  to  admit  of  a  fair  trial  at  New 
Ulm.  The  attorneys  in  the  case  were  Col.  Colvill,  attorney 
general,  Samuel  McPhail,  county  attorney,  and  S.  A.  Buell,  for 
the  prosecution;  and  Judge  C.  E.  Flandrau,  of  St.  Paul,  C.  T. 
Clothier,  Francis  Baasen,  and  John  McBorman,  of  New  Ulm, 
for  the  defense.  The  defendants  were  charged  with  taking 
two  men,  who  had  assaulted  a  barkeeper,  to  the  Minnesota 
river  and  drowning  them  by  putting  them  under  the  ice.  The 
trial  resulted  in  an  acquittal. 

Col.  McPhail  generously  donated  a  block  of  ground  for 
county  purposes,  on  which  the  first  court  house,  twenty-eight 
feet  square,  with  a  court  room  upstairs,  was  built  in  1874.  At 
that  time  it  wTas  the  most  commodious  and  pretentious  build- 
ing in  the  county.  To  this  modest  beginning  an  addition  of 
the  same  size  was  made  in  1881,  which  provided  convenient 
quarters  for  the  transaction  of  public  business  until  1891, 
when  the  present  very  complete  court  house  of  brick  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $35,000.  The  county  has  also  a  jail  build- 
ing which  cost  $15,000.  Previous  to  the  building  of  the  first 
court  house  the  public  offices  were  kept  mostly  at  private 
houses,  and  terms  of  court  were  held  in  different  halls. 

Miss  Julia  A.  Williams  taught  a  private  school  in  the 
stockade  in  1864;  but  the  educational  history  of  the  county 
opened  with  the  organization  of  school  district  No.  1  at  Bed- 
wood  Falls  in  April,  1866,  with  Edward  March,  county  auditor, 
who  had  also  been  appointed  superintendent  of  schools,  as 
teacher.  There  were  in  1878  only  thirty-three  organized  school 
districts.  In  1886,  when  the  number  of  school  districts  had 
increased  to  sixty-seven,  a  thorough  attempt  was  made  to 
systematize  the  work  and  improve  the  teaching  force  of  the 
county,  among  which  there  was  hardly  a  first  grade  teacher  in 
the  rural  districts,  and  more  holding  third  than  second  grade 
certificates.  In  Redwood  Falls,  Independent  District  No.  1  now 
has  a  thoroughly  graded  and  high  school  system,  with  twelve 
teachers,  a  library  of  1,000  volumes,  necessary  apparatus  for 
the  illustration  of  the  sciences,  and  an  enrollment  of  500 
pupils.  The  county  now  has  seven  graded  schools  with  one  or 
more  departments,  and  93  school  districts,  with  103  school 
buildings,  nearly  all  of  which  are  comfortable  and  well  fur- 
nished. 


HISTORY  OF  REDWOOD  COUNTY.  285 

At  the  present  time  over  4,000  pupils  are  enrolled;  and 
126  teachers,  of  whom  forty  hold  first  grade  certificates  or 
normal  school  diplomas,  are  employed.  Only  seven  third 
grade  licenses  are  in  force.  Sixty  districts  are  supplied  with 
libraries,  ranging  in  value  from  $60  to  $100.  Ninety  per  cent, 
of  the  districts  supply  text  books  to  pupils  free  of  charge.  S. 
J.  Race,  the  present  very  efficient  superintendent,  has  held  the 
office  since  1886. 

To  a  new  settlement,  after  shelter  and  the  means  of  sub- 
sistence are  provided,  the  question  of  transportation  is  of  the 
highest  importance.  At  the  beginning  the  only  means  of  com- 
munication between  the  little  colony  and  St.  Paul,  the  general 
market  and  base  of  supplies,  was  the  Minnesota  river,  which 
even  at  Mankato  was  too  uncertain  to  afford  satisfactory  busi- 
ness facilities  with  the  outside  world.  At  New  XJlm,  the  next 
place  of  importance  up  the  river,  boats  were  only  expected 
to  run  for  a  month  or  two  in  the  spring,  and  possibly  a  month 
in  the  fall.  Yet  the  energetic  settlers  at  Eedwood  determined 
to  do  the  best  they  could  to  induce  steamboat  owners  to  risk 
a  trip  to  their  growing  settlement,  forty  miles  beyond  New 
Ulm.  From  1865  to  1876  it  was  nearly  always  possible  for 
small  stern-wheel  boats  to  make  a  trip  or  two  to  Redwood  in 
the  spring;  and  during  one  season  the  stage  of  water  permit- 
ted Gen.  M.  D.  Flower  to  reach  there  several  times  with  his 
boat,  the  Osceola.  The  Pioneer  was  chartered  by  D.  L.  Big- 
ham  in  the  spring  of  1869,  loaded  with  lumber  at  St.  Paul,  and 
made  a  successful  trip. 

In  1875  a  large  warehouse  was  built  at  the  landing  on  the 
Minnesota,  called  Riverside,  by  a  company,  for  the  purpose 
of  providing  storage,  and  to  give  an  outlet  by  the  river  for 
the  wheat  crop,  of  which  60,000  bushels  were  brought  and 
stored  during  the  next  fall  and  winter.  In  the  spring  of  1876 
two  side-wheel  steamboats  arrived  at  Riverside,  laden  with 
lumber,  and  took  out  the  wheat  in  store  and  a  large  amount 
from  Redwood  and  private  parties.  To  warehouse  men,  and 
to  Daniels  &  Son,  who  had  opened  a  general  store  and  built 
a  hotel,  the  transportation  scheme  seemed  solved,  but  it  proved 
only  a  case  of  whistling  before  getting  out  of  the  woods.  In 
a  few  days  it  was  learned  that  the  boats  were  stranded  on  a 
sandbar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth  river,  and  the  parties 


286  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

who  shipped  the  wheat  were  called  on  to  furnish  sacks  and 
men  to  transfer  the  grain  to  the  railroad.  This  practically  put 
an  end  to  the  Riverside  and  steamboat  transportation  scheme. 
The  warehouse  and  hotel  were  removed  to  Redwood  Falls  and 
used  in  building  an  elevator  and  hotel  there. 

Capt.  Leroy  Newton  made  a  further  effort  to  utilize  the 
river.  He  took  a  large  barge  and  rigged  a  wheel  at  the  stern, 
which  was  propelled  by  an  ordinary  eight-horse  thresher  pow- 
er. This,  however,  proved  unsuccessful;  though  it  was  of 
some  help  to  reach  New  Ulni,  which  was  the  end  of  his  run. 

The  first  newspaper  published  was  the  Redwood  Falls 
Mail,  in  September,  1869,  by  V.  C.  Seward,  which  was  bought 
by  William  B.  Herriott  in  May,  1873.  The  name  was  changed 
at  the  same  time  to  the  Redwood  Gazette,  and  it  is  now  is- 
sued under  this  name  by  Aiken  &  Schmahl,  proprietors. 

The  Winona  &  St.  Peter  railway  was  built  to  Lamberton 
and  through  the  southern  part  of  Redwood  county  in  1873;  its 
branch,  the  Minnesota  Valley  railway,  running  from  Sleepy 
Eye  to  Redwood  Falls,  was  completed  in  August,  1878;  and 
the  Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis  railway  company  built  its  line  to 
North  Redwood  in  1885. 

The  Redwood  County  Agricultural  Society  was  organized 
in  1873,  and  held  its  first  fair  that  fall.  There  was  hardly 
any  progress  made  until  1882,  when  it  was  reorganized,  issued 
stock  to  the  amount  of  $500,  and  bought  forty  acres  of  land, 
on  which  it  has  gradually  built  comfortable  buildings.  It 
has  a  good  half  mile  track  and  a  grand  stand.  The  policy 
of  the  management  has  been  conservative,  and  there  has  been 
a  little  profit  nearly  every  year. 

The  land  office  of  the  Redwood  Falls  land  district  was 
established  in  July,  1872,  with  Col.  B.  F.  Smith,  register,  and 
Major  W.  H.  Kelley,  receiver.  These  officers  were  succeeded 
by  Capt.  W.  P.  Dunnington  and  W.  B.  Herriott.  The  office 
was  removed  to  Marshall  some  years  ago. 

The  first  banking  business,  opened  as  a  private  bank  in 
November,  1871,  by  W.  F.  Dickenson,  has  since  been  incor- 
porated under  the  state  laws  as  the  Bank  of  Redwood  Falls, 
with  a  capital  of  $25,000.  The  first  store,  except  one  opened 
by  Louis  Robert  in  the  stockade,  was  opened  by  H.  Benke  & 


HISTORY  OF  REDWOOD  COUNTY.  287 

Brother,  in  July,  1865,  under  the  management  of  A.  Northrup. 
The  first  hotel,  the  Exchange,  was  built  by  James  McMillan 
and  opened  in  1865,  on  the  lots  now  occupied  by  the  county 
jail. 

The  first  physician  to  locate  in  the  county  was  Dr.  D.  L. 
Hitchcock,  who  came  with  his  family  in  1865.  Col.  Samuel 
McPhail  was  the  first  attorney. 

The  first  grain  elevator  was  erected  in  1878,  with  a  capacity 
of  100,000  bushels.  The  first  blacksmith  shop  was  opened  by 
John  Thomas,  in  the  spring  of  1865,  W.  P.  Tenney  opened  a 
barber  shop  in  1870,  and  has  continued  the  business  to  this 
time. 

The  first  birth  was  of  Henry  Thompson,  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J. 
R.  Thompson,  in  February,  1865;  and  the  first  death  was  of 
Willie  Honner,  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  S.  G.  Honner,  on  April 
12th,  1865.  The  first  religious  services  were  held  by  a  Baptist 
clergyman  in  August,  1865,  at  the  house  of  J.  S.  G.  Honner. 
"The  first  marriage  ceremony  was  performed  by  O.  C.  Martin, 
justice  of  the  peace,  between  George  Coffee  and  Amanda  Cole. 
It  took  place  under  the  falls,  where  the  parties  chose  it  should 
be  solemnized.'7 

The  government  built  a  saw  mill  at  the  falls  of  the  Red- 
wood in  1855,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  lumber  for  houses 
to  be  built  for  the  Indians.  The  raceway  was  blasted  out  of 
granite  forming  the  ledge  of  the  falls.  E.  G.  Poniroy,  now 
living  in  the  town  of  Underwood,  assisted  in  building  the  mill. 
During  the  outbreak,  or  later,  it  was  entirely  dismantled,  and 
all  the  machinery  was  carried  away,  presumably  not  by  the 
Sioux.  The  building,  nowever,  remained,  and  it  was  refitted 
and  put  in  order  in  1865  by  McPhail,  Martin  and  Thompson, 
who  there  sawed  the  lumber  for  all  the  frame  buildings  erected 
in  the  vicinity.  This  was,  at  the  time,  the  most  important, 
and,  if  the  report  of  a  charge  of  $16  a  thousand  for  sawing  be 
true,  the  most  profitable  industry  above  New  Ulm.  Another 
saw  mill  was  built  by  Ener  and  Andrew  Rirum  in  1869,  on 
the  Redwood  about  half  a  mile  above  the  confluence  with  the 
Minnesota,  which,  with  an  abundance  of  native  timber  near 
at  hand  and  a  constantly  increasing  demand,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  mill  at  the  falls,  proved  both  a  necessary  and  profitable 
venture. 


288  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

The  first  grist  mill  in  tlie  county,  now  called  the  Eedwood 
Roller  Mills,  was  built  in  1868  by  Park  Worden  and  S.  J.  F. 
Euter,  just  above  the  falls  of  the  Eedwood,  with  two  run  of 
stone  and  room  for  two  run  additional.  This  mill  has  since 
been  changed  to  the  roller  system,  has  been  supplied  with 
modern  facilities  and  appliances,  and  has  a  capacity  of  seven- 
ty-five barrels  of  flour  a  day.  The  present  owner  is  A.  C. 
Burmeister. 

A.  M.  Cook  and  Sons  built  the  Delhi  Mill,  with  three  run 
of  stone,  in  1869,  higher  up  on  the  river,  at  its  crossing  by 
the  old  territorial  road.  This  mill  was  owned  later  by  W.  E. 
Baker  and  James  McMillan,  and  later  still  by  O.  W.  McMillan 
&  Co.     It  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1895. 

Bridge  building  was  inaugurated  in  the  county  by  the  leg- 
islature of  1871,  which  passed  an  act  appropriating  $ 5,000  for 
the  construction  of  a  Howe  truss  bridge  across  the  Eedwood 
river  at  the  dalles.  This  bridge  was  entirely  of  wood.  The 
bill  was  introduced  by  Hon.  J.  S.  (x.  Honner,  representative, 
and  was  passed  only  after  a  hard  fight.  The  amount  was  the 
first  considerable  sum  appropriated  from  the  internal  improve- 
ment fund  created  by  the  five  per  cent,  given  to  the  state  in 
sales  of  government  lands.  The  bridge  was  replaced  some 
years  ago  by  an  iron  combination  structure  on  a  more  modern 
plan. 

The  early  settlement  of  the  county  was  greatly  retarded  by 
the  withdrawal  from  the  operation  of  the  homestead  law  of 
a  large  body  of  land  for  a  railroad  bonus,  equal  to  half  of  the 
area  in  most  townships;  by  the  location  of  considerable  tracts 
of  the  University  and  Internal  Improvement  grants  within  its 
limits;  and  by  the  sale  of  a  large  part  of  the  reservation  to 
non-residents. 

A  second  cause  of  discouragement  and  delay  was  the  visit 
of  the  grasshoppers,  lasting  from  1874  to  1877,  during  which 
time  very  little  was  harvested.  The  eggs  were  laid  in  the 
prairie  each  year,  and  they  hatched  out  just  in  time  for  the 
young  hoppers  to  move  into  the  wheat  fields  when  the  tender 
blades  were  two  or  three  inches  high,  and  to  eat  them  off  so 
close  to  the  ground  that  it  gave  the  appearance  of  a  fire  hav- 
ing passed  over  the  fields.  If  anything  had  escaped  their 
ravages,  later  in  the  season,  on  some  fair  day,  a  fleecy  cloud 


HISTORY  OP  REDWOOD  COUNTY.  £89 

might  be  seen  between  the  observer  and  the  sun,  which  would 
prove  to  be  an  invading  host  of  these  marauders  seeking  some- 
thing to  devour.  Verily,  the  grasshopper  was  a  burden  dur- 
ing those  disastrous  years!  The  farmers  lost  courage  and  in 
many  cases  were  driven  away  altogether  from  the  places  where 
they  had  hoped  to  make  their  homes.  Many  others  were  com- 
pelled to  leave  their  claims  temporarily  to  procure  means  of 
subsistence  for  themselves  and  their  families.  The  state  did 
what  it  could  to  furnish  seed  grain  on  two  or  three  occasions, 
and  donations  from  the  older  counties  relieved  the  situation 
in  a  slight  degree;  but,  in  any  view,  it  was  a  most  trying 
experience  to  the  hardy  and  industrious  pioneer  families,  who, 
at  the  best,  could  only  maintain  the  position  they  had  taken 
on  the  frontier  by  hard  work  and  self-denial. 

Kaolin  is  found  in  large  quantities  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Redwood  river  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Redwood  Falls, 
samples  of  which  have  been  tested  and  reported  to  be  of  good 
quality;  but  thus  far  no  effort  has  been  made  to  work  or  pre- 
pare it  for  market,  and  it  is  as  yet  an  undeveloped  resource. 

A  low  grade  of  lignite  is  found  at  three  or  four  places  in 
the  bluff  along  the  Minnesota  river,  and  an  excavation  in  its 
larger  bed  is  known  as  the  Peabody  mine.  An  effort  was 
made  about  five  years  ago,  in  1893,  to  develop  this  deposit,  the 
view  of  the  interested  parties  being  that  the  indications  were 
that  a  good  quality  of  bituminous  coal  would  be  found  by  open- 
ing the  seam  to  a  considerable  depth.  After  spending  much 
money,  it  was  discovered  that,  though  the  product  would 
burn,  it  had  no  commercial  value,  and  further  effort  was 
abandoned. 

There  are  extensive  granite  ledges  within  the  borders  of 
the  county,  along  the  Minnesota  river,  in  two  of  which,  at 
North  Redwood  and  again  at  a  point  north  of  Belview,  quar- 
ries have  been  opened  and  worked  to  quite  an  extent,  enough, 
at  the  least,  to  demonstrate  that  the  product  is  of  a  high  qual- 
ity, and  that  it  is  only  necessary  for  a  demand  to  spring  up  to 
make  these  quarries,  as  well  as  others  not  yet  opened,  a  per- 
manent and  profitable  industry. 

The  county  has  been  fortunate  in  its  financial  policy  and 
has  always  kept  faith  with  its  creditors.     Notwithstanding  its 
early  disability  to  levy  taxes  equally,  by  reason  of  a  very  large 
19 


290  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

portion  of  its  land  being  non-taxable,  and  in  spite  of  the 
grasshopper  raid,  which  made  it  impossible  for  settlers  to  pay, 
the  necessary  expenses  were  always  met  without  incurring 
debt.  It  is  due  to  the  different  boards  of  county  commission- 
ers and  officers  who  have  been  in  control  fronr  time  to  time, 
to  say  that  the  management  of  county  affairs  has  been  pru- 
dent, business-like  and  conservative;  and  to  these  officers,  m 
a  large  degree,  is  due  the  high  credit  and  financial  standing 
of  the  county.  The  present  indebtedness  of  the  county  is 
$45,000  in  county  bonds  drawing  interest  at  1iYe  per  cent, 
issued  for  a  part  of  f  50,000  given  to  the  Minnesota  Valley  rail- 
way company  in  1878,  and  the  balance  for  county  buildings. 
The  county  property  consists  of  a  court  house  erected  at  a 
cost  of  $35,T)0'0;  a  jail  costing  $15,000;  and  the  county  poor 
farm,  $5,000.  This  does  not  take  account  of  delinquent  taxes. 
The  valuation  of  the  assessment  of  1897  was  $4,842,458.  The 
number  of  acres  in  crops  last  year  was  167,110;  add  to  this 
some  200,000  acres  of  pasture,  and  we  find  that  the  farmers 
have  utilized  two-thirds  of  the  557,000  acres  of  land  contained 
in  the  county. 

This  paper  has  been  written  with  the  purpose  of  taking  up 
the  subjects  of  the  organization  of  towns  and  villages,  the 
history  of  religious  bodies  and  secret  orders,  and  the  general 
development  of  the  agricultural  and  other  industries  of  the 
county,  at  a  future  time. 


.. , ' ,  .  **■&%  '*,.''*/' ",$*,'••.■ 


v 


Minnesota  Historical  Soci ktv, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  V. 


HISTOET    OF    LUMBERING    IN    THE    ST.  CROIX 
VALLEY,  WITH  BIOGRAPHIC  SKETCHES.* 


BY  WILLIAM  H.  O.  FOLSOM. 


Mr.  President,  Members  of  the  Historical  Society,  and  Citi- 
zens of  Minnesota:  It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  appear  be- 
fore the  Minnesota  Historical  Society  in  response  to  an  invita- 
tion extended  from  your  Committee  on  Lectures.  From  the 
time  of  the  formation  of  this  society  in  1849,  I  have  known  of 
its  progress,  success,  and  noble  aims.  The  wisdom  and  fore- 
sight of  its  founders  have  been  happily  illustrated  year  by 
year  in  the  interest  manifested  by  our  people,  in  the  valuable 
library  accumulated,  free  to  all,  and  in  the  published  remi- 
niscences of  the  history  of  Minnesota,  from  the  days  of  tradi- 
tions among  the  Indians  to  the  present  time.  May  the  Minne- 
sota Historical  Society  continue  in  its  usefulness  and  pros- 
perity. 

The  invitation  of  your  committee  expressed  the  desire  for 
an  article  on  the  History  of  Lumbering  in  the  St.  Croix  Val- 
ley. It  appeared  quite  an  undertaking,  involving  considerable 
research  and  covering  sixty  years  of  the  rise  and  progress  of 
an  important  industry.  In  entering  upon  this  history,  I  found 
many  of  the  records  obliterated  and  most  of  the  early  mill 
operators  and  owners  dead;  but  with  the  kind  assistance  of 
interested  friends  I  have  been  able  to  collect  and  compile  the 
statistics,  approximately  correct,  of  the  annual  cut  and  manu- 
facture of  pine  timber  in  the  St  Croix  valley  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  present  year. 

In  gathering  these  statistics  I  have  followed  the  courses 
of  the  rivers  and  railway  lines  where  the  mills  are  situated, 


♦An  Address  at  the  Annual  Meeting"  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Jan.  16,  1899. 


292  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

instead  of  referring  to  the  various  mills  in  the  chronologic  or- 
der of  their  being  built;  yet  their  dates  are  given  as  far  as 
they  could  be  ascertained  with  the  help  of  friends  and  from 
my  own  memoranda.  In  arranging  the  data,  I  have  inter- 
spersed incidents  of  the  early  settlement,  with  numerous  short 
biographic  sketches.  I  have  also  had  occasion  to  make  refer- 
ence to  the  fifteen  different  tribes,  nationalities,  and  territorial 
and  state  governments,  as  far  as  they  can  be  traced  back, 
which  have  had  control  or  jurisdiction  over  the  St  Croix  val- 
ley, to- wit: 

1.  Sioux  Indians.  9.  Illinois  Territory. 

2.  O  jib  way  Indians.  10.  Michigan  Territory. 

3.  Government  of  France.  11.  State  of  Michigan. 

4.  Government  of  England.  12.  Wisconsin  Territory. 

5.  "Virginia.  13.  State  of  Wisconsin. 

6.  United  States.  14.  Minnesota  Territory. 

7.  Ohio  Territory.  15.  State  of  Minnesota. 

8.  Indiana  Territory. 

In  1680,  Duluth,  who  discovered  and  floated  down  the  St. 
Croix  river,  was  the  first  man  to  see  this  Valley,  of  whom  we 
have  any  account.  He  was  a  native  of  Lyons,  France,  and 
was  an  adventurer  for  wealth  and  fame.  After  more  than 
two  centuries  have  passed  away,  his  name  is  honored,  at  the 
southwest  end  of  lake  Superior,  by  a  great  and  growing  city. 

The  St.  Croix  river  derived  its  name  from  a  man  by  the 
name  of  St.  Croix,  who  was  buried  at  the  mouth  of  St.  Croix 
lake  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

In  1833,  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  estab- 
lished a  mission  on  Yellow  river,  an  eastern  tributary  of  the 
St.  Croix,  under  the  supervision  of  Rev.  Frederick  Ayer,  who 
in  1857  was  a  member  of  the  Minnesota  Constitutional  Con- 
vention from  Morrison  county.  It  was  in  this  mission  that  the 
first  school  was  opened  in  the  valley  by  Miss  Hester  Crooks, 
later  Mrs.  W.  T.  Boutwell,  now  deceased.  Her  father  was 
Ramsay  Crooks,  president  of  the  American  Fur  Company. 
This  mission  was  removed  to  Pokegama,  Pine  county,  in  1836. 

In  1837,  treaties  were  made  by  our  government  with  the 
Ojibway  (Chippewa)  and  Sioux  Indians,  which  opened  the  St. 
Croix  valley  to  white  immigration,  an  opportunity  that  was 
soon  improved.    Gov.  Henry  Bodge  of  Wisconsin  and  Gen.  W. 


LUMBERING  IN  THE   ST.   CROIX  VALLEY.  293 

K.  Smith  negotiated  with  the  O  jib  ways  at  Fort  Snelling,  while 
the  Sioux  treaty  was  made  at  Washington.  These  treaties 
were  ratified  by  Congress  in  1838. 

BEGINNING  OP  SETTLEMENTS,  STEAMBOATING,  AND  LUMBERING. 

For  the  following  account  of  the  earliest  settlement  and 
the  first  cutting  of  lumber  on  the  St  Croix  I  am  indebted  to 
Mr.  Franklin  Steele,  who  was  the  first  pioneer  to  come  to  the 
Valley  with  the  intention  of  making  permanent  improvements. 
He  wrote: 

I  came  to  the  Northwest  in  1837,  a  young  man,  healthy  and  ambi- 
tions, to  dare  the  perils  of  an  almost  unexplored  region,  inhabited  by 
savages.  I  sought  Fort  Snelling  (which  was  at  that  time  an  active 
United  States  fort)  as  a  point  from  which  to  start.  In  September,  1837, 
immediately  after  the  treaty  was  made  ceding  the  St.  Croix  valley  to 
the  government,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Fitch,  of  Bloomington,  Iowa,  I 
started  from  Fort  Snelling  in  a  bark  canoe,  accompanied  by  a  scow 
loaded  with  tools,  supplies,  and  laborers.  We  descended  the  Mississippi 
river  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix,  and  thence  ascended  the  St.  Croix 
to  the  Dalles.  We  clambered  over  the  rocks  to  the  falls,  where  we 
made  two  land  claims,  covering  the  falls  on  the  east  side  and  the  ap- 
proach in  the  Dalles.  We  built  a  log  cabin  at  the  falls,  where  the  upper 
copper-b earing  trap  range  crosses  the  river,  and  where  the  old  mill 
was  afterward  erected.  A  second  log  house  we  built  in  the  Dalles  at 
the  head  of  navigation.  While  we  were  building,  four  other  parties 
arrived  to  make  claims  to  the  water  power.  I  found  the  veritable  Joe 
Brown  on  the  west  side  cutting  timber  and  trading  with  the  Indians, 
where  now  stands  the  town  of  Taylor's  Falls.  These  were  the  first 
pine  logs  cut  in  the  Valley,  and  they  were  used  mostly  in  building  a 
mill. 

In  February,  1838,  I  made  a  trip  from  Fort  Snelling  to  Snake  river 
via  St.  Croix  Falls,  where  I  had  a  crew  of  men  cutting  logs.  While 
I  was  there,  Peshick,  an  Indian  chief,  said:  "We  have  no  money  for 
our  land,  logs  cannot  go."  He  further  said  *bat  he  could  not  control 
his  young  men,  and  would  not  be  responsible  for  their  acts.  The  treaty 
was  ratified,  however,  in  time  for  the  logs  to  be  moved. 

The  following  spring  we  descended  the  Mississippi  river  in  bark 
canoes  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  went  thence  by  steamer  to  St.  Louis. 
There  a  copartnership  was  formed,  composed  of  Fitch  of  Muscatine, 
Iowa,  Libby  of  Alton,  Illinois,  Hungerford  and  Livingstone  of  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  Hill  and.  Holcombe  of  Quincy,  Illinois,  and  myself. 
We  chartered  the  steamer  Palmyra,  loaded  her  with  materials  for 
building  a  saw  mill,  and  took  with  us  thirty-six  laborers.  Plans  for 
procedure,  rules,  and  by-laws,  were  adopted  during  the  journey  on  the 
steamer;  our  company  was  named  the  St.  Croix  Falls  Lumbering  Com- 
pany. 


294  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

The  steamer  Palmyra  was  the  first  boat  to  ply  the  waters 
of  the  St.  Croix  lake  and  river.  On  her  first  trip  into  the 
Dalles  she  had  an  interesting  encounter  with  the  Ojibway  In- 
dians. As  she  steamed  up  between  the  high  rocks,  her  shrill 
whistleand  puffing  engine  attracted  the  Indians,  who  flocked 
in  great  numbers  to  the  river  to  see  the  "scota  chenung"  (fire- 
boat).  Some  of  the  more  daring  ones  ventured  to  the  high 
rocks  overtowering  the  boat,  as  she  lay  in  the  eddy  opposite 
Angle  Eock.  Their  curiosity  knew  no  bounds.  They  whooped 
and  danced  until  their  frenzied  spirits  became  excited  to  such 
a  degree  that  they  began  to  roll  rocks  from  the  high  pinnacle 
down  upon  the  boat.  At  once  the  captain  ordered  the  engi- 
neer to  let  the  steam  escape,  while  the  whistle  screamed  with 
broken  notes,  the  bell  keeping  time.  The  shrill  belching  forth 
of  the  steam  was  terrific.  The  Indians  sprang  away  with  a 
bound,  with  fearful  yelling,  tumbling  over  the  cragged  rocks, 
leaving  blankets  and  utensils  behind  in  their  fright,  and  fled 
into  the  woods  in  such  terror  that  not  an  Indian  reappeared. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  steamboating  and  settlement  by  the 
whites  in  the  St.  Croix  valley. 

The  St.  Croix  Falls  Lumbering  Company,  with  its  boat  load 
of  men  and  materials,  built  a  mill  and  dam,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$20,000,  above  the  Dalles  at  the  rapids.  The  company  passed 
through  many  changes.  The  inexperience  of  the  managers  in 
the  lumbering  business  with  its  necessary  expenditures,  the 
long  distance  from  labor  and  supplies,  which  had  to  be 
freighted  from  St.  Louis,  and  the  heavy  early  outlays  with  no 
profits  or  dividends,  caused  several  of  the  partners  to  with- 
draw, notwithstanding  the  local  advantages  for  lumbering,  a 
splendid  water  power,  abundance  of  timber,  and  a  healthy 
climate.  However,  the  company  continued  operations  for 
years,  with  William  Holcombe  as  agent. 

Captain  Holcombe  was  the  first  lieutenant  governor  of 
Minnesota.  He  tool:  a  deep  interest  in  the  settlement  of  the  St. 
Croix  valley.  In  1846  he  was  a  member  of  the  first  constitu- 
tional convention  in  Wisconsin,  in  which  he  worked  hard  for 
the  change  of  the  boundary  from  the  St.  Croix  river  to  a  line 
farther  east;  he  succeeded  in  making  the  change,  and  was 
elected  on  the  boundary  issue,  which  was  a  political  question ; 
but  the  constitution  was  defeated  by  the  people.    St.  Paul 


LUMBERING  IN   THE   ST.   CROIX  VALLEY.  295 

favored  the  St  Croix  boundary,  for  she  was  fearful  that,  if  the 
line  was  established  farther  east,  Hudson  would  be  her  rival 
to  become  the  future  capital  of  the  new  territory  destined  to 
be  formed  northwest  of  Wisconsin.  Lieut.  Gov.  Holcombe 
was  also  a  member  of  the  Democratic  wing  of  the  Minnesota 
constitutional  convention,  and  was  United  States  receiver  of 
the  land  office  for  four  years.  His  name  will  long  be  remem- 
bered in  the  Valley.     He  died  in  1870. 

The  other  members  of  the  old  company  did  not  become 
residents  of  the  St  Croix  valley,  with  the  exception  of  William 
S.  Hungerford.  Every  member  of  this  old  company  has  passed 
away  from  all  that  is  mortal. 

Mr.  Hungerford  became  a  permanent  resident  of  the  Val- 
ley when  the  government  offered  for  sale  the  land  embracing 
the  water  power.  He  preempted  the  subdivision  on  which 
the  old  mill  stood,  and  obtained  the  title  from  the  government 
in  1851.  He  was  arrested  for  perjury  in  obtaining  the  title, 
and  was  carried  to  Madison  in  bonds.  This  act  created  liti- 
gation which  continued  for  over  twenty  years.  Mr.  Hunger- 
ford was  acquitted. 

Hon.  John  McKusick,  of  Stillwater,  was  also  connected  with 
the  St  Croix  Lumbering  Company  as  an  agent  in  1840,  during 
the  first  operations.    The  entire  output  of  this  mill  was  about 

50,000,000  feet 

% 

ESTABLISHMENT  OP  THE  INTERSTATE  BOUNDARY. 

Hon.  James  Fisher,  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  a  member  of  the 
Wisconsin  territorial  council  in  1845,  representing  Crawford 
county,  which  covered  the  area  between  the  St.  Croix  and  Mis- 
sissippi rivers,  introduced  a  memorial  to  Congress,  to  create 
another  territory  from  the  northwest  part  of  Wisconsin,  to  be 
called  Superior.  The  memorial  was  referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Territories,  where  it  still  sleeps. 

Hon.  Caleb  Cushing,  of  Massachusetts,  in  1846,  purchased 
an  interest  in  the  St  Croix  Falls  property  and  formed  a  stock 
company.  He  firmly  believed  in  the  future  formation  of  this 
new  territory  with  boundaries  similar  to  those  proposed  in  the 
Fisher  memorial;  he  thought  that,  with  his  almost  unlimited 
sway  in  Congress,  this  result  could  be  accomplished  and  St 
Croix  Falls  be  designated  as  the  capital.     But  about  this  time 


296  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Mr.  Gushing  was  commissioned  by  the  government  and  en- 
tered the  Mexican  war.  He  was  subsequently  sent  as  minister 
to  China.  These  an4  other  important  duties  called  away  his 
personal  attention  from  the  St.  Croix  property,  so  that  the 
new  territory  and  capital  as  designed  sleep  with  the  Fisher 
memorial.  The  water  power  of  this  property  has  remained 
unimproved  to  the  present  time.  It  belongs  to  the  estate  of 
the  late  Isaac  Staples.  The  f sills  are  created  by  the  water 
falling  over  imperishable  adamantine  rock. 

George  W.  Brownell,  of  St.  Croix  Falls,  was  delegate  from 
this  district,  in  1847,  to  the  second  Wisconsin  constitutional 
convention.  He  had  been  elected  on  the  issue  of  establishing 
the  boundary  from  Mt.  Trempealeau  to  Lake  Superior,  which 
would  place  the  St.  Croix  valley  and  the  two  great  cities  since 
built  at  the  west  end  of  Lake  Superior  under  one  state  govern- 
ment. But  the  edict  had  gone  forth  that  Wisconsin  must  be 
admitted  into  the  Union,  iii  order  that  her  Whig  vote  (which 
was  sure)  might  be  cast  for  Gen.  Zachary  Taylor  for  president, 
and  that  therefore  her  Morgan  L.  Martin  boundary  must  not 
be  tampered  with.  Thus  was  sacrificed,  in  a  considerable  de- 
gree, the  future  welfare  of  a  district  capable  of  sustaining 
half  a  million  or  more  of  people,  by  placing  them  under  a  gov- 
ernment not  their  first  choice.  The  Wisconsin  part  of  this 
tract  of  country  is  adjacent  to  Minnesota,  and  its  financial 
interests  are  blended  with  those  of  our  state;  thus  timie  ex- 
poses some  of  our  indiscreet  national  and  state-building 
schemes. 

PIONEER  LUMBERING  ON  GOVERNMENT  LANDS. 

The  first  operators  in  the  pine  districts  of  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota  were  pioneers,  who  ventured  into  this  new  and  un- 
explored country  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  timber  for  a  liveli- 
hood, not  with  the  spirit  of  speculation.  They  opened  the 
country  for  settlement  and  cultivation,  as  the  vanguard  of 
civilization,  creating  a  value  for  the  government  domain. 

The  government  subsequently  sent  timber  agents  to  inves- 
tigate and  report,  regarding  the  cutting  of  timber  on  these 
uncared-for  lands.  It  was  generally  conceded  to  be  a  benefit 
to  the  government;   it  being  occupancy  under  an  endowed 


LUMBERING  IN  THE  ST.  CROIX  VALLEY.  297 

right,  as  citizens  inheriting  an  interest  in  the  government.  In 
many  instances  where  the  government  demanded  payment,  the 
demand  was  promptly  met  by  purchasing  the  denuded  lands, 
or  by  paying  a  fair  compensation  for  the  timtber  cut. 

FOREST  FIRES  AND  DECREASE  OF  RAINFALL. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  extensive  pine  forests 
once  existed  where  now  there  are  large  pine  barrens.  The 
gradations  from  the  thrifty  pine  to  barren  plains  is  clearly 
seen.  Fires  were  the  main  cause,  which  annually  swept  over 
large  tracts  of  land,  stripping  them  of  the  timber  by  millions 
of  feet,  a  destruction  vast  and  incalculable. 

The  physical  features  of  the  country  have  also  undergone 
a  change  due  to  decrease  of  the  rainfall.  While  the  towering 
pines  have  fallen  by  the  forest  fires  or  by  decay  or  the  wood- 
man's ax,  many  of  the  lakes  have  receded,  and  tall  grasses 
wave  and  willows  grow  where  once  the  "kego"  sported  in  the 
clear  blue  waters.  "The  sun  drew  the  waters  up  into  the 
heavens,"  said  the  Indians;  but  the  old  shores  may  still  be 
traced,  by  the  freshwater  shells  that  are  crushed  by  the  foot 
of  the  explorer,  and  by  the  ineffaceable  mark  of  water  breaking 
upon  the  beach  and  undermining  the  rocky  ledges. 

THE  VILLAGE  OF  MARINE. 

Next  to  St.  Croix  Falls,  Marine  contains  the  earliest  settle- 
ment. Lewis  Judd  and  David  Hone  were  deputized  by  a  com- 
pany of  men  residing  in  Marine,  Illinois,  to  visit  the  North- 
west and  examine  the  region  recently  secured  by  treaty  from 
the  Ojibways,  and  to  return  the  same  year  and  report  upon  its 
advantages  of  climate,  soil,  and  other  resources.  They  were 
authorized  also  to  locate  a  claim  for  future  settlement,  if  they 
found  one  entirely  suitable.  They  embarked  on  the  steamer 
Ariel  at  St.  Louis,  September  10th,  1838,  and  in  twenty-five 
days  reached  the  head  of  lake  St.  Croix,  whence  they  proceeded 
in  a  flatboat  propelled  by  poles  up  the  St.  Croix  as  far  as  the 
falls,  and  thence  to  the  mouth  of  Kettle  river.  Returning  by 
birch  canoes,  they  stopped  at  the  present  site  of  the  village  of 
Marine;  and  thence  went  onward  to  Marine,  Illinois,  where 
they  arrived  November  10th,  and  reported  favorably  on  the 
location  chosen. 


298  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

During  the  following  winter  a  verbal  agreement  was  made 
by  thirteen  persons,  all  of  Marine,  Illinois,  to  start  in  the 
spring  and  build  a  sawmill  on  the  distant  St.  Croix.  On  April 
27th,  this  company  left  St.  Louis  on  the  steamer  Fayette  for 
the  new  settlement,  which  they  reached  on  the  13th  of  May. 
The  Fayette  was  chartered  expressly  for  this  voyage.  They 
took  with  them  mill  machinery,  farming  tools,  household 
goods,  three  yoke  of  oxen,  and  cows. 

The  members  of  the  party  were  Lewis,  George,  and  Albert 
Judd,  Orange  Walker,  David  Hone,  William  B.  Dibble,  Dr. 
Lucius  Green,  Asa  Parker,  Joseph  Cottrell,  and  Hiram  Berkey. 
When  they  landed  they  found  Jeremiah  Russell  and  Levi  W. 
Stratton  in  possession  of  the  claim,  they  having  taken  posses- 
sion during  the  preceding  winter.  These  men  demanded  and 
received  three  hundred  dollars  for  relinquishing  the  claim  to 
its  rightful  owners. 

The  colonists  set  to  work  immediately  to  build  a  log  cabin 
as  a  temporary  shelter,  which  being  completed,  they  com- 
menced the  mill,  and  worked  with  such  energy  that  it  was 
finished  in  ninety  days.  The  first  wheel  used  was  a  fiutter- 
wheel,  which,  not  proving  satisfactory,  was  replaced  by  an 
overshot  wheel  with  buckets. 

Orange  Walker  was  the  first  clerk  and  chieftain  of  the 
concern,  and  when  anything  was  wanted  a  call  of  the  company 
would  be  made,  and  the  members  assembled.  No  article  of 
agreement  existed.  Only  one  book  was  kept  for  a  series  of 
years, — a  unique  affair,  no  doubt.  The  first  installment  was 
$200;  the  second,  $75;  the  third,  $50.  All  were  within  the 
first  two  years,  after  which  the  company  became  self-sustain- 
ing. No  partner  forfeited  his  stock.  The  name  of  this  com- 
pany was  the  Marine  Lumber  Company,  which,  in  1850,  was 
changed  to  the  Judd  &  Walker  Company.  The  property 
changed  hands  several  times  after  this;  and  Orange  Walker 
was  the  sole  owner  in  1863,  when  the  mill  was  burned  at  a  loss 
of  $6,000.  This  mill,  the  first  that  manufactured  lumber  in 
the  St.  Croix  valley,  was  operated  fifty  years.  Beginning  work 
in  1839  and  continuing  until  1889,  its  gross  cut  was  197,000,000 
feet    All  the  thirteen  original  owners  have  passed  from  earth. 

The  first  jury  trial  ever  held  in  the  Valley  was  at  Marine 
in  1840,  with  Joseph  R.  Brown  as  justice,  Philander  Prescott, 


LUMBERING  IN   THE   ST.   CROIX  VALLEY.  299 

plaintiff,  and  C.  D.  Foote,  defendant.  The  accusation  was  for 
jumping  a  land  claim-  at  Prescott.  During  the  trial  the  court 
adjourned  to  allow  the  jury  to  visit  the  claim  and  obtain  the 
facts  in  the  case.  The  jury  failed  to  agree,  but  the  case  was 
compromised  by  Prescott  allowing  Foote  eighty  acres  of  the 
claim. 

In  the  early  50's  a  mill  was  built  at  Vasa,  a  village  three 
miles  above  Marine.  It  ran  only  a  short  time,  cutting  about 
3,000,000  feet. 

OSCEOLA,  WISCONSIN. 

The  first  land  claim  at  Osceola,  covering  the  beautiful  cas- 
cade, was  made  May  1st,  1844,  by  Milton  V.  Nobles  and  L.  N. 
Parker.  The  claim  was  made  for  mill  purposes,  and  a  com- 
pany was  formed  consisting  of  M.  V.  and  W.  H.  Nobles,  Wil- 
liam Kent,  W.  O.  Mahoney,  Anson  Northup,  and  Lewis 
Walker.  The  mill  began  operations  in  1845,  using  a  fifty-foot 
flutter  wheel,  which  made  the  mill  a  conspicuous  object  on  the 
river.  It  has  long  since  been  dismantled,  after  changing 
hands  a  number  of  times.  The  approximate  cut  of  lumber  was 
35,000,000  feet.  The  original  proprietors,  with  the  exception 
of  William  Kent,  are  dead.  Captain  Kent  has  been  a  popular 
steamboat  man  for  a  number  of  years. 

In  the  50's  a  small  mill  was  built  above  Osceola,  which  was 
soon  afterward  moved  away;  cut,  about  3,000,000  feet. 

Col.  William  H.  Nobles,  who  invested  in  the  Osceola  mill 
in  1844,  was  appointed,  in  1857,  to  locate  and  miark  a  road  from 
St.  Paul  to  the  Missouri  river,  and  thence  across  the  Rocky 
mountains.  Under  a  military  escort  he  established  what  is 
known  as  Nobles  Pass  across  the  Rockies,  his  route  being 
marked  by  earth  mounds.  He  came  to  the  St.  Croix  Valley  in 
1844.  He  was  a  member  of  the  fifth  Minnesota  state  legisla- 
ture, and  a  county  in  this  state  bears  his  name. 

THE  OLD  ST.  CROIX  COUNTY. 

Joseph  Renshaw  Brown,  one  of  the  best  known  men  of  the 
early  days  of  Minnesota,  came  with  the  troops  who  built  Fort 
Snelling,  a  drummer  boy  in  the  army,  in  1819,  at  the  age  of 
fourteen.  After  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  enlistment,  Gray 
Oloud  was  his  first  home,  where  Crawford  county  authorities 


§00  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

commissioned  him  a  justice  of  the  peace,  as  also  David  Hone 
of  Point  Douglas,  in  1839 ;  they  being  the  first  persons  to  hold 
civil  office  in  what  is  now  Minnesota.  I  can  give  but  a  brief 
sketch  of  his  history,  for  which  I  am  personally  indebted  to 
him.  He  was  elected,  in  1840,  representative  in  the  Wisconsin 
territorial  legislature  from  Crawford  county,  having  sought 
the  position  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  creating  St.  Croix 
county,  in  which  he  was  successful.  On  returning  home,  the 
organization  was  perfected  with  the  aid  of  the  people. 

The  first  county  commissioners'  meeting  of  St.  Croix 
county,  Wisconsin,  now  in  Minnesota,  was  held  October  5th, 
1840,  at  Dakotah,  now  a  part  of  Stillwater.  Hazen  Mooers 
and  Samuel  Burkleo  appeared  and  qualified  as  commissioners; 
J.  R.  Brown  was  clerk;  H.  Mooers  was  elected  chairman;  and 
the  bonds  of  the  officers  were  approved. 

In  conformity  to  a  vote  of  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Croix 
county,  at  an  election  held  August  3rd,  the  county  was  au- 
thorized by  a  law  of  Wisconsin  Territory,  entitled  An  Act  to 
Organize  the  County  of  St.  Croix,  which  was  approved  Janu- 
ary 9th,  1840.  This  vote  located  the  seat  of  the  county  at  the 
head  of  lake  St.  Croix,  on  a  tract  of  land  occupied  by  Joseph 
R.  Brown,  bounded  on  the  east  by  lake  St.  Croix,  and  on  the 
north  by  Pine  creek.  Also  in  conformity  to  this  law,  the 
board  of  commissioners  by  deed  transferred  all  the  right  and 
title  of  the  land  to  Joseph  R.  Brown,  he  having  paid  to  the 
treasurer  of  the  county  f  800.  The  Board  contracted  with  Mr. 
Brown  to  build  a  court  house,  jail,  and  county  offices,  to  be 
used  four  years;  and  they  purchased  half  an  acre  of  land  to  be 
selected  by  the  county  commissioners,  in  the  central  part  of 
the  town,  to  be  surveyed  by  the  county  surveyor. 

The  county  seat  having  been  located  at  Dakotah,  the  or- 
ganization provided  for  a  district  court,  which  Judge  Irwin 
of  Green  Bay  was  ordered  to  hold  in  June,  1840.  He  ascended 
the  Pox  river  and  descended  the  Wisconsin  in  a  skiff,  came 
thence  by  steamer  to  Fort  Snelling,  and  from  Fort  Snelling^ 
went  to  Dakotah  on  foot,  with  a  pilot  for  a  guide.  On  arriv- 
ing at  Dakotah  he  found  the  sheriff,  but  no  jurors  or  docket. 
He  stopped  at  Hotel  Brown,  slept  on  deer  skins,  and  ate 
St  Croix  fish,  seasoned  with  salt  which  he  had  brought  in  his 
pocket.  On  his  return  he  succeeded  in  effecting  the  disorgani- 
zation of  the  court    Phineas  Lawrence,  the  sheriff,  on  serving 


LUMBERING  IN  THE  ST.  CROIX  VALLEY.  gQl 

the  first  and  only  papers,  while  acting  as  sheriff,  approached 
the  party,  holding  the  document  to  view,  and  exclaimed,  "I, 
Phineas  Lawrence,  high  sheriff  of  St.  Croix  county,,  in  the  name 
of  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  immortal  God,  com- 
mand yon  to  surrender." 

The  first  term  of  district  court  held  in  St  Croix  county. 
Wisconsin,  convened  at  Stillwater,  June  1st,  1847.  The  ses- 
sion lasted  one  week.  The  jurors  were  found  in  a  circuit  of 
one  hundred  miles.  Hon.  Charles  Dunn,  of  Mineral  Point,  pre- 
sided, with  Joseph  R.  Brown  as  clerk  of  court,  M.  S.  Wilkin- 
son, prosecuting  attorney,  and  W.  H.  C.  Folsom,  sheriff.  The 
next  term  of  court  was  held  by  Judge  Aaron  Goodrich,  a  Min- 
nesota territorial  appointee,  in  August,  1849,  under  the  Wis- 
consin territorial  laws,  two  months  after  the  proclamation  of 
Gov.  Alexander  Ramsey  was  issued,  establishing  the  Territory 
of  Minnesota. 

In  1847,  while  serving  as  sheriff,  I  obtained  copies  of  the 
lists  of  both  grand  and  petit  juries  of  the  June  term  of  court, 
which  I  have  in  my  possession,  together  with  the  original  log 
scale  bills,  in  the  handwriting  of  the  scalers,  Gov.  William 
Holcombe  and  Hon.  Joseph  Bowron.  These  are  supposed  to 
be  the  first  log  scale  bills  made  in  Minnesota.  I  also  have  the 
copies  of  the  poll  lists  of  several  of  the  first  elections  held  in 
the  St  Croix  valley,  containing  the  names  of  the  candidates ; 
and  also  the  sheriff  bills  of  the  trial,  and  conveyance  to  Fort 
Snelling,  of  the  two  Indians,  Wind  and  Ne-she-ke-ogemia,  who 
were  tried  for  murder  in  the  June  term  of  court  in  1847.  That 
was  the  first  murder  trial  in  what  is  now  Minnesota.  The  In- 
dians were  acquitted  on  the  ground  that  the  deed  was  com- 
mitted in  a  drunken  brawl,  in  which  they  killed  a  whisky 
vender. 

THE  CITY  OF  STILLWATER. 

In  the  spring  of  1843,  Jacob  Fisher  made  a  claim  on  unsur- 
veyed  land,  where  a  part  of  the  city  of  Stillwater  now  stands. 
Afterwards,  this  claim  was  purchased  from  Mr.  Fisher  by  John 
McKusick,  Elami  Greely,  Elias  McKean,  and  Calvin  F.  Leach, 
who  erected  the  first  sawmill  on  lake  St.  Croix.  April  1st, 
1844,  the  mill  began  work,  with  the  motive  power  from  the 
water  run  from  a  small  lake  near  by.     It  continued  operations 


302  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

until  about  1862,  having  cut,  during  its  existence,  27,000,000 
feet 

John  McKusick,  the  only  surviving  partner,  prominent 
among  the  pioneers,  came  to  the  Valley  in  1840.  He  has  filled 
many  positions  of  trust,  being  state  senator  from  1863  to  1866. 
He  is  a  generous,  public-spirited  man. 

Elias  McKean,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  an  active  and 
friendly  man,  came  to  the  Valley  in  1841  and  to  Stillwater  in 
3843,  retiring  to  his  farm  in  1850. 

Calvin  F.  Leach  was  a  quiet,  pleasant  business  man.  He 
died  in  St.  Louis. 

Elam  Greely,  native  of  New  Hampshire,  camie  to  the  Valley 
in  1840.  He  was  the  first  postmaster  of  Stillwater,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  third  and  fourth  Minnesota  territorial  councils. 
He  was  identified  with  the  prosperity  of  Stillwater  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  suddenly  away  from  home. 

The  year  1848  brought  many  changes  to  the  Valley.  Wis- 
consin was  admitted  into  the  Union,  with  the  St.  Croix  as  her 
northwestern  boundary,  severing  her  connection  with  the  Wis- 
consin territory  west  of  the  St.  Croix  river.  In  Stillwater, 
August  4th,  was  held  the  first  public  meeting  where  were  laid 
the  foundations  of  the  future  Territory  and  great  State  of  Min- 
nesota. James  H.  Tweedy,  delegate  in  Congress  from  the  ter- 
ritory, resigned  and  the  people  elected  Henry  H.  Sibley  as 
their  delegate,  who  was  accredited  with  his  seat  Mr.  Sibley 
introduced  and  obtained  the  passage  of  a  bill  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  Minnesota  Territory,  March  3rd,  1849.  Mr.  Sibley  was, 
at  the  time,  a  citizen  of  Iowa  Territory. 

Morton  S.  Wilkinson,  who  came  to  Stillwater  in  1847,  was 
the  first  practicing  lawyer  northwest  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  first  Minnesota  territorial  legislature  in 
1849.  His  history  is  well  known,  and  it  will  not  avail  to  intro- 
duce it  here. 

The  second  mill  built  at  Stillwater  was  by  Sawyer  &  Hea- 
ton,  in  1852,  which  was  afterward  burned  at  a  loss  of  $5,000. 
It  was  transferred  to  Isaac  Staples.  The  cut  of  this  mill  was 
about  150,000,000  feet 

In  1854,  Schulenburg,  Boeckler  &  Co.,  of  St  Louis,  erected 
a  mill  in  Dakotah,  now  a  part  of  Stillwater.  Louis  Hospes,  in 
1856,  became  an  owner  and  operated  the  mill  until  it  burned 


LUMBERING  IN  THE   ST.   CROIX  VALLEY.  3Qg 

in  1877.  It  was  afterward  rebuilt,  but  it  burned  again  in  1892, 
at  a  loss  of  {188,000.  The  mill  is  now  the  property  of  Staples, 
Atlee  &  Co.,  who  have  built  the  third  mill.  The  gross  amount 
cut  by  these  mills  has  been  735,600,000  feet. 

Mr.  Hospes  served  as  president  of  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Stillwater  for  twenty  years.  His  active,  energetic  business 
methods  had  good  influence  in  Stillwater. 

The  firm  of  Hersey,  Staples  &  Hall,  eastern  capitalists, 
built  a  mill  in  the  south  part  of  Stillwater  in  1854,  which 
passed  through  several  ownerships,  with  different  firm  names. 
Hersey  &  Bean  are  the  present  owners,  and  it  is  known  as  the 
Atwood  mill.  The  amount  cut  by  this  mill,  in  forty-four  years, 
is  756,000,000  feet.     Its  loss  by  fire  has  been  $5,000. 

Isaac  Staples,  a  native  of  Maine,  came  to  Stillwater  in 
1853,  as  the  agent  for  Hersey,  Staples  &  Hall,  who  made  large 
investments  in  pine  lands,  carrying  on  an  extensive  business. 
After  a  number  of  years  of  successful  business,  the  property 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Isaac  Staples,  a  man  of  vigor,  health, 
unlimited  ambition,  good  judgment,  and  money  sufficient  to 
insure  success  in  business.  He  did  much  to  advance  the  in- 
terest of  Stillwater.     He  died  in  1898,  aged  eighty-two  years. 

The  number  of  owners  in  the  Hersey,  Staples  &  Hall  mill, 
from  the  time  of  its  erection  to  the  present,  is  too  numerous 
to  refer  to.  Those  living  are  among  the  business  men  of  Still- 
water and  elsewhere. 

In  1850,  a  mill  was  built  near  the  State  Prison;  it  cut 
3,000,000  feet 

McKusick,  Anderson  &  Co.,  in  1869,  erected  a  mill  opposite 
to  Stillwater,  in  Houlton,  Wisconsin.  The  firm  was  composed 
of  James  Anderson,  William  McKusick,  John  G.  Nelson,  and 
Alexander  Johnson.  During  the  year  1888  the  capacity  of  the 
mill  was  nearly  doubled.  The  present  firm  is  known  as  the 
East  Side  Lumber  Company,  composed  of  David  Bronson,  E. 
A.  Folsom,  Eobert  Slaughter,  John  G.  Nelson,  Alex.  Johnson, 
and  J.  D.  Bronson.  The  cut  of  this  mill  has  been  500,000,000 
feet.  All  the  different  proprietors  who  have  been  connected 
with  this  mill  are  so  well  known  in  the  Valley  as  men  possess- 
ing true  and  reliable  character  and  business  habits,  that  it 
will  not  be  necessary  to  give  individual  notes. 


S©4  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

In  1884,  The  Hershey  Lumber  Company,  composed  of  Ben- 
jamin Hershey  and  others,  built  a  mill  at  Oak  Park  Village, 
Stillwater.  The  gross  amount  cut  by  this  mill  up  to  1899,  has 
been  170,000,000  feet;  its  loss  by  fire,  $2,50t). 

E.  W.  Turnbull,  in  1886,  built  a  mill  in  Oak  Park  at  a  cost 
of  |70,000.  The  gross  cut  of  this  mill  has  been  275,000,000 
feet. 

In  1852,  the  first  mill  was  built  in  South  Stillwater,  by  a 
company  composed  of  Socrates  Nelson,  David  B.  Loomis,  and 
Daniel  Mears.  The  gross  cut  by  this  mill  has  been  30,000,000 
feet. 

Socrates  Nelson  came  from  Massachusetts  to  Stillwater  in 
1844,  where  he  opened  the  first  store.  He  was  territorial  audi- 
tor in  1853,  and  was  state  senator  in  the  second  legislature. 
He  donated  to  Washington  county  the  block  of  land  on  which 
the  court  house  stands.  He  was  free  and  generous  of  disposi- 
tion in  all  the  relations  of  life. 

The  successors  to  the  S.  Nelson  Lumber  Co.  were  Torinus 
&  Co.,  who  rebuilt  the  mill  in  1873,  at  a  cost  of  f  150,000,  and 
assumed  the  name  St.  Croix  Lumber  Co.  This  mill  became 
the  head  of  various  manufactories,  with  Louis  Torinus  and 
William  Chalmers  as  operating  members  of  the  firm.  In  1876, 
it  sustained  a  loss  by  fire  to  the  amount  of  f  75,000,  uninsured. 
The  present  operators  of  this  mill  are  William  Chalmers,  G.  S. 
Welchance,  and  Louis  Torinus.  Its  cut,  to  1899,  has  been 
650,000,000  feet. 

Louis  Torinus,  an  active  business  man,  was  a  Bussian.  He 
tame  to  America  in  1854,  and  to  Stillwater  in  1856.  William 
Chalmers,  the  present  manager  of  the  firm,  came  to  the  Val- 
ley in  1854  from  Canada.  He  is  president  of  the  firm.  Mr. 
Torinus  is  vice  president,  and  Mr.  Welchance  is  secretary  and 
treasurer. 

In  1881,  D.  C.  Gaslin  and  L.  B.  Castle  built  a  mill  in  South 
Stillwater,  which  they  operated  for  three  years,  cutting  18,- 
000,000  feet  In  1884,  this  mill  was  rebuilt,  at  a  coat  at  $70,- 
000,  by  the  South  Stillwater  Lumber  Co.,  the  firm  consisting 
of  Smith  Ellison,  David  Tozer,  A.  T.  Jenks,  E.  W.  Durant,  and 
K.  J.  Wheeler.  Since  that  time  the  mill  has  passed  through 
many  changes.  The  cut  of  this  mill  to  1899  has  been  200.000, 
000  feet. 


LUMBERING  IN  THE   ST.   CROIX  VALLEY.  395 

David  Tozer,  one  of  tlie  proprietors,  came  from  New  Bruns- 
wick to  the  Valley  in  1856.  He  is  an  active,  cautious,  and 
honorable  man.  Mr.  Jenks,  one  of  Stillwater's  prompt  busi- 
ness men,  came  to  the  Valley  in  1855.  Smith  Ellison,  of  Illi- 
nois birth,  came  to  the  Valley  in  1844.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  eighth  Minnesota  legislature,  and  is  now  a  trustworthy 
citizen  of  Taylor's  Falls.  Edward  W.  Durant,  born  in  Box- 
bury,  Mass.,  in  1829,  came  to  Stillwater  in  1848.  He  repre- 
sented Washington  county  in  the  fifteenth,  seventeenth,  and 
twenty-fourth  legislatures;  he  has  served  as  mayor  of  Still- 
water often,  and  has  filled  many  responsible  positions  with 
fidelity. 

LAKELAND,  APTON,  AND  POINT  DOUGLAS. 

In  1857,  Osgood  &  Andrews  built  a  mill  in  Lakeland,  which 
was  soon  after  dismantled.    Its  gross  cut  was  10,000,000  feet 

In  Lakeland  in  1848,  Moses  Perin  and  Ballard  &  Keynolds 
each  built  a  mill.  The  cut  of  these  mills  was  11,000,000  feet 
Lakeland  was  first  settled  by  French  refugees  from  Fort  Snell- 
ing  reservation  in  1838. 

Stearns,  Watson  &  Co>  erected  a  mill  in  Lakeland  at  a  cost 
of  $45,000.  This  mill  changed  hands  many  times,  finally  pass- 
ing to  0.  N.  Nelson,  who  enlarged  it  at  a  cost  of  $50,000.  It 
is  now  dismantled.  Gross  amount  cut  by  this  mill,  150,000,- 
000  feet 

In  1886,  Fall  &  McCoy  built  a  mill  in  Lakeland,  which  cut 
about  155,000,000  feet;  present  proprietor,  R.  H.  McCoy. 

In  1854,  a  mill  was  built  at  St.  Mary's;  cut,  3,000,000  feet. 

Lowry  &  Co.  built  a  mill  in  Afton,  in  1850;  Getehell  &  Co., 
in  1861,  built  a  mill,  which  was  afterward  burned,  loss,  $3,000. 
In  1855,  Thomas  &  Sons  rebuilt  the  Lowry  mill.  Gross  cut  of 
these  mills,  15,000,000  feet. 

Lemuel  Bolles,  in  1846,  built  a  flouring  mill  on  Bolles  creek 
in  Afton,  St.  Croix  county,  and  ground  the  first  wheat  raised 
north  of  Prairie  du  Chien.  The  wheat  was  raised  by  Joseph 
Haskell  and  Andrew  Mackey,  at  Afton. 

At  Point  Douglas,  which  was  located  and  named  by  Leri 

Hertzell  and  Oscar  Burris  in  1839,  Woodruff  &  Sons  built  a 

mill  in  1851;  but  it  was  afterward  removed  to  Preseott     Cut 

of  this  mill,  3,000,000  feet.     A.  J.  Short  built  a  mill  in  1858, 

20 


306  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

whicLi  was  burned  at  a  loss  of  $6,000.    The  cut  of  this  mill 
was  about  20,000,000  feet. 

David  Hone,  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  Marine 
mill,  says  that  he  built  the  first  frame  house  in  Minnesota,  at 
Point  Douglas,  in  1843. 

PRESCOTT,  WISCONSIN. 

Philander  Prescott  came  to  Fort  Snelling  in  1819,  and,  in 
conjunction  with  army  officers,  made  a  land  claim  where  the 
city  of  Prescott  now  stands,  on  the  Wisconsin  side  of  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Croix.  He  subsequently  became  sole  owner, 
residing  there  and  at  Fort  Snelling  alternately,  until  he  was 
killed  by  the  Sioux  Indians  in  1862. 

In  1856,  mills  were  built  at  Prescott  by  Silverthorn  &  Dud- 
ley, Lowry  &  Co.,  and  Todd  &  Hunter.  Cut  of  these  mills, 
45,000,000  feet;  loss  of  mills  by  fire,  $10,000. 

DISTRICT  OF  THE  APPLE  AND  WILLOW  RIVERS. 

The  first  mill  that  was  built  on  the  Apple  river,  an  eastern 
tributary  of  the  St.  Croix,  was  by  Aaron  M.  Chase,  at  the  out- 
let of  Balsam  lake,  eight  miles  east  of  St.  Croix  Falls,  in  1850. 
He  had  neither  oxen  nor  horses,  but  he  yoked  himself  with  an- 
other man  and  hauled  the  timber  for  the  mill,  which  has 
changed  owners  many  times.  It  has  cut  about  15,000,000  feet. 
Mr.  Chase  has  a  varied  history;  prior  to  mill  building,  he  was 
on  the  Mississippi  river  running  towboats  for  eighty  miles 
above  St  Anthony  Falls.  There  have  been  two  mills  on  Bal- 
sam creek;  gross  cut,  12,000,000  feet. 

An  Indian  entered  one  of  the  homes  at  Balsam  Lake 
and  demanded  of  the  woman  within,  Mrs.  Edward  Worth, 
who  was  alone,  admittance  to  the  cellar,  believing  that  there 
was  whisky  there.  The  woman  was  plucky  and  sternly  re- 
fused him  admittance.  He  attempted  to  raise  the  trap-door 
and  force  an  entrance,  but  as  he  was  passing  down  the  stairs 
the  woman  shut  the  door  upon  his  legs  and  jumped  on  it,  hold- 
ing him  until  assistance  came. 

Samuel  Harriman,  a  native  of  Maine,  came  to  the  Valley 
in  1855,  and  was  the  founder  of  Somerset  village  on  the  Apple 
river,  where  he  built  and  owned  a  sawmill.  We  first  learn  of 
him,  in  1845,  in  California,  mining  and  lumbering.  He  en- 
listed in  the  army  in  1862,  June  10th,  in  Company  A  of  the 


LUMBERING  IN  THE  ST.  CROIX  VALLEY.  307 

Thirtieth  Wisconsin  Regiment.  In  1864,  he  was  commis- 
sioned colonel  of  the  Thirty-seventh  Wisconsin,  being  after- 
ward commissioned  a  general.  He  was  a  brave  soldier,  and  a 
genial,  kind-hearted  gentleman.  He  was  fond  of  a  joke,  even 
at  his  own  expense.  He  informed  the  wTriter  of  this  sketch 
that  when  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  service,  he  was  ad- 
dressed as  General  at  Washington;  on  his  way  home,  he  was 
saluted  as  Colonel;  when  nearing  Wisconsin,  he  was  hailed 
as  Major;  in  Wisconsin,  as  Captain;  but  when  he  met  the 
boys,  they  greeted  him  with  "Hello,  Sam.'7  He  died  in  1897 
at  Hot  Springs,  Arkansas. 

In  1848-49,  James  Purinton,  as  the  agent  for  a  Boston  com>- 
pany,  built  a  mill  and  dam  at  the  mouth  of  Willow  river  in 
North  Hudson,  at  a  cost  of  about  f  25,000.  Both  mill  and  dam 
were  burned  in  1862;  loss,  $15,000.  The  gross  cut  of  the  mill 
was  about  35,000,000  feet. 

In  1856,  J.  W.  Peers  built  a  mill  in  Hudson,  which  passed 
through  many  ownerships,  being  rebuilt  in  1883  by  H.  A.  Tay- 
lor, C.  E.  Coon,  M.  Herrick,  and  others,  at  a  cost  of  $45,000. 
In  1889,  the  company  was  organized  into  the  Hudson  Sawmill 
Company.  Gross  cut  during  the  first  thirty-three  years,  198,- 
000,000  feet;  during  the  last  nine  years,  108,000,000;  total, 
306,000,000.,  This  mill  had  a  loss  by  fire,  in  1873,  of  $10,000. 
In  1899,  it  is  a  stock  company  with  a  capital  of  $55,000,  com- 
posed of  O.  K.  and  J.  T.  Ingram,  of  Eau  Claire,  Wis.,  C.  L. 
Chamberlain,  of  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  A.  E.  Richard,  of  Mason, 
Wis.,  and  G.  P.  De  Long,  of  Hudson,  Wis.  There  were  four 
mills  in  Hudson,  built  in  the  50's  and  60's;  their  cut  was  about 
20,000,000  feet 

Horace  A.  Taylor  came  to  the  Valley  in  1850,  from  Norfolk, 
New  Jersey;  a  man  of  enterprise  and  energy,  quick  perception, 
and  ready  wit.  In  1881,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Gar- 
field as  consul  at  Marseilles,  France. 

In  1852,  Joseph  Bowron  built  a  mill  above  Willow  River 
Falls;  cut,  6,000,000  feet  At  the  same  place,  in  1868,  Charles 
Buckhart  built  a  mill;  cut,  10,000,000  feet 

The  Lord  Brothers,  in  1872,  built  a  mill  in  Glenmount, 
Wis.,  which  changed  hands  a  number  of  times,  being  remod- 
eled by  Pennington  &  Harper;  gross  cut,  175,000,000  feet 
Mills  on  the  Kinnikinic  have  cut  3,000,000  feet. 


308  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Joseph  Bowron  came  to  the  Valley  in  1841.  He  was  a 
strong  advocate  for  the  St.  Croix  boundary,  and  was  a  candi- 
date for  both  Wisconsin  constitutional  conventions,  but  was 
defeated.  He  contested  successfully  the  seat  of  William  R. 
Marshall,  a  citizen  of  St  Croix  Falls,  Wis.,  who  had  received 
the  certificate  of  election  as  representative  to  the  first  session 
of  the  Wisconsin  legislature;  but  Bowron  defeated  Marshall 
by  the  legislature  rejecting  the  vote  west  of  the  St.  Croix  lake 
and  river. 

At  New  Richmond,  Wis.,  in  1857,  D.  C.  Foster  and  Silas 
Staples  built  a  mill  which  was  operated  by  water  power;  cut, 
about  15,000,000  feet. 

In  1884,  William  Johnson,  James  Johnson,  John  C.  Glover, 
and  Jacobson  &  Sons,  built  a  mill  on  Willow  river,  at  a  cost  of 
$75,000.  The  gross  cut  of  this  mill,  up  to  1899,  has  been  180,- 
000,000  feet  William  Johnson  gave  me  much  information 
about  this  and  other  mills.  He  has  been  a  resident  of  the 
Valley  for  over  forty  years. 

S.  A.  Jewett  built  a  mill  on  the  Willow  river  six  miles 
above  New  Richmond,  in  1862;  cut,  15,000,000  feet. 

The  Glenwood  mill,  built  in  1884  on  the  Wisconsin  Central 
railroad,  has  cut  35,000,000  feet.  The  Boardman  mill,  on  Wil- 
low river,  has  cut  5,000,000  feet. 

In  1888,  a  mill  was  built  at  Amery,  on  the  Apple  river,  by 
I.  E.  Schneider.  It  was  burnt  in  1893  at  a  loss  of  $10,000, 
and  was  rebuilt  by  the  present  owner,  John  E.  Glover;  cut, 
about  73,000,000  feet.  A  mill  was  built  by  Harriman  &  Sta- 
ples on  Apple  river;  cut,  6,000,000  feet.  The  Star  Prairie  mill 
has  cut  5,000,000  feet;  the  Somerset  mill,  5,000,000  feet;  and 
the  Little  Falls  mill,  3 ,000,000  feet. 

Charles  Buckhart,  in  1874,  built  a  mill  at  Black  Brook, 
Wis.,  cut,  15,000,000  feet.  He  also  built  a  mill  at  Marsh  Lake 
station;  cut,  25,000,000  feet. 

Israel  Graves,  in  1875,  built  a  mill  at  Clear  Lake,  which 
has  changed  hands  many  times,  being  rebuilt  by  John  E. 
Glover  in  1880;  gross  cut,  25,000,000  feet;  loss  by  fire,  $10,000. 

The  Jewett  mill,  three  miles  from  Clear  Lake,  has  cut  30,- 
000,000  feet. 

P.  B.  Lacy  &  Johnson  built  a  mill  at  Pineville  in  1880;  cut, 
about  40,000,000  feet;  loss  by  fire,  on  the  mill  and  railroad 
timber,  $10,000. 


LUMBERING  IN  THE   ST.   CROIX  VAJLLEY.  399 

A  letter  from  F.  E.  Catlin  states  that  a  mill  was  located  at 
Clayton  in  1875;  and  that  it  cut  out  in  1889,  having  cut  about 
110,000,000  feet.  The  mill  was  built  and  operated  by  Humbird 
&Co. 

MILLS  ON  THE  C.,  ST.  P.,  M.  AND  O.  RAILWAY. 

The  following  mills  were  located  on  the  Chicago,  St  Paul, 
Minneapolis  and  Omaha  railway: 

The  Turtle  Lake  mill,  built  in  1878  by  S.  Richardson,  cut 
40,000,000  feet;  a  mill  built  by  John  W.  Perley  in  1879  cut 
65,000,000  feet;  and  the  Sprague  mill,  built  in  1883,  cut  40,- 
000,000  feet.  R.  Gorbett  built  a  mill  at  Comstock  in  1884;  cut, 
4,000,000  feet.  Three  mills  at  Cumberland,  in  the  80>s,  cut 
100,000,000  feet  on  the  St.  Croix  waters;  loss  by  fire,  $130,000. 
The  Barronett  mill,  built  in  1880,  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1894 
at  a  loss  of  f  275,000;  insurance,  f  135,000.  The  cut  of  this 
mall  was  150,000,000  feet,  its  St  Croix  cut  being  125,000,000. 
Other  mills  on  the  Omaha  railway  cut  16,000,000  feet 

John  W.  Perley,  of  Maine  birth,  came  to  the  Valley  in  1854, 
By  his  kindness  I  have  been  able  to  gather  much  information 
about  the  mills  on  the  Omaha  railway. 

The  Shell  Lake  Lumber  Company  was  organized  in  1880, 
under  Iowa  laws,  and  was  composed  of  C.  Lamb  and  Daniel 
Joice,  of  Clinton,  Iowa,  David  Norton  &  Co.,  of  Winona,  Minn., 
Weyerhaeuser  &  Co.,  of  Rock  Island,  111.,  and  others.  They 
have  a  capital  stock  of  $500,000;  have  sixty-three  tenement 
houses;  and  employ  two  hundred  and  fifty  men.  This  com- 
pany's mill  cut,  up  to  1899,  is  450,000,000  feet;  from  land  drain- 
ing to  the  St.  Croix,  225,000,000  feet  I  am  indebted  to  W.  E. 
Bourne,  the  present  manager  of  this  rpill  and  former  manager 
of  the  Barronett  null,  for  the  information  concerning  the  Shell 
Lake  and  Barronett  mills.  These  two  mills  cut  their  timber 
on  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  St.  Croix  and  Chippewa 
rivers. 

At  Hayward,  situated  on  the  Namekagan  river,  in  Sawyer 
county,  Wis.,  the  North  Wisconsin  Lumber  Company  was  or- 
ganized October  28th,  1881,  with  a  capital  of  f 450,000,  in  six 
equal  interests,  namiely:  W.  H.  Laird,  M.  Q.  Norton,  and  J.  L. 
Norton,  of  Winona,  Minn.;  F.  Weyerhaeuser,  of  St.  Paul, 
Minn.;  R.  L.  McCormack,  of  Waseca,  Minn.;  and  A.  J.  Hay- 


310  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

ward,  of  Chippewa  Falls,  Wis.  The  mill  began  operations 
June  4th,  1883,  and  has  continued  for  sixteen  seasons;  total 
cut,  up  to  1899,  540,000,000  feet.  In  a  letter  from  E.  L.  Mc- 
Cormack,  vice  president  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society, 
he  says:  "If  any  other  data  are  desired,  I  will  be  at  your 
service;  for  I  fully  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  vast  wealth  of 
the  timber  country  will  in  a  few  years  live  only  in  the  history 
you  and  others  may  write."  Mr.  McCormack  was  formerly  a 
resident  of  Minnesota,  being  state  senator  from  Waseca  county 
in  1881.  He  is  a  man  of  quiet  demeanor,  attentive  to  duties, 
with  good  business  qualifications. 

PINE,  CARLTON,  AND  KANABEC  COUNTIES. 

In  the  early  50's  a  mill  was  built  by  the  Munch  Brothers 
at  Chengwatana.  It  was  operated  by  water  power,  and  much 
of  the  lumber  was  floated  down  the  St.  Croix  river;  gross  cut, 
4,000,000  feet. 

James  S.  Ferson  built  the  first  mill  at  Pine  City  in  1871. 
It  has  passed  through  many  hands,  and  has  sustained  two 
losses  by  fire,  to  the  amount  of  f  75,000.  The  gross  cut  of  this 
mill  has  been  about  33,000,000  feet.  Hiram  Brackett  erected 
a  mill  in  the  70's;  cut,  about  7,000,000  feet.  Webber  &  Bur- 
ger afterward  built  a  mill,  which  cut  about  5,000,000  feet.  H. 
J.  Eath  also  built  a  mill,  which  cut  2,000,000  feet.  Several 
small  mills  in  the  vicinity  of  Pine  City,  not  including  portable 
mills,  cut  about  11,000,000  feet.  These  mills  were  all  located 
in  Pine  county. 

Two  mills  were  built  at  Rush  City;  cut,  about  5,000,000 
feet;  loss  by  fire,  $3,000.  The  Martin  mill,  at  Rushseba,  cut 
about  3,000,000  feet.  Lee's  mill,  at  Rush  lake,  cut  about  3,000,- 
000  feet.    The  Sunrise  City  mill  cut  about  2,000,000  feet. 

During  the  70's  and  80's  five  mills  were  erected  at  Rock 
Creek;  their  cut  was  about  41,000,000  feet;  loss  by  fire,  two 
mills,  $9,500. 

The  Mission  Creek  mill,  first  operated  by  Hunter  &  Taylor, 
was  burned  twice,  with  losses  of  about  $32,000.  Its  gross  cut 
was  about  170,000,000  feet.  Its  last  proprietors  were  Capt 
John  Martin,  Philip  Riley,  and  Frank  C.  and  John  L.  Laird. 

D.  C.  Grant's  mill,  near  Hinckley,  built  in  1873,  cut  about 
2,000,000  feet. 


LUMBERING  IN  THE   ST.  CROIX  VALLEY.  3X1 

The  Hinckley  mill,  first  owned  by  William  H.  Grant,  cut 
70,000,000  feet.  It  was  rebuilt  and  cut,  in  five  and  a  half 
years,  140,000,000  feet  Subsequently,  in  seven  years,  it  cut 
70,000,000  feet.     It  was  burned  in  1894,  at  a  loss  of  $25,000. 

William  H.  Grant,  the  founder  of  the  Hinckley  mill,  is  a 
man  of  worthy  ambition,  very  alert,  and  a  practical  everyday 
man. 

The  founders  of  these  many  manufacturing  establish- 
ments, on  the  St.  Paul  &  Dulutb  and  Eastern  railroads,  are  an 
indefatigable  class  of  men.  We  have  not  space  to  give  a 
sketch  of  these  many  useful  citizens. 

To  Fred  A.  Hodge  I  ami  greatly  indebted  for  valuable  data 
regarding  the  Mission  Creek,  Hinckley,  and  other  mills.  He 
gladly  left  his  business  to  give  me  the  information  needed. 
Mr.  Hodge  came  to  the  state  early  in  the  70?s,  and  has  always 
been  interested  in  the  lumbering  business.  He  is  a  genial 
man,  worthy  and  public  spirited,  and  has  served  four  years  in 
the  state  senate. 

The  Brown  and  Robie  mill,  at  Miller  station,  cut  about 
2,000,000  feet;  loss  by  fire,  f 3,000.  D.  M.  Finlayson's  mill  cut 
about  75,000,000  feet.  The  Pine  River  mill,  owned  by  Wyman 
X.  Folsom,  cut  about  15,000,000  feet. 

The  Rutledge  mill,  located  on  Kettle  river  and  owned  by 
Weyerhaeuser,  Sauntry  &  Rutledge,  was  built  in  1886;  gross 
cut  in  twelve  years,  216,000,000  feet. 

The  two  mills  at  Moose  Lake  have  been  owned  by  McAr- 
thur  &  Co.,  Fox  &  Wisdom,  and  others;  cut,  about  140,000,000 
feet;  loss  by  fire,  $30,000. 

Two  mills  at  Rarnum  have  cut  about  180,000,000  feet;  loss 
by  fire,  $5,000. 

Three  mills  at  Mattawa  have  cut  about  80,000,000  feet. 

Two  mills  at  Groundhouse  and  Rice  Lake  have  cut  about 
3,000,000  feet. 

The  Atwood  Lumber  Co.,  successors  to  Fox,  Wisdom  &  Co., 
consisting  of  George  H.  Atwood,  William  Sauntry,  and  Wey- 
erhaeuser &  Dinkman,  built  a  mill  in  1894,  on  section  2,  town- 
ship 44,  range  20.  The  gross  cut  of  this  mill,  to  1899,  has  been 
150,000,000  feet.  Mr.  Atwood  is  a  genial,  intelligent  man.  He  is 
a  native  of  Maine  and  came  to  the  Valley  in  1883.  Mr.  Saun- 
try is  a  native  of  New  Brunswick;  he  came  to  the  Valley  in 


312  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

1854;  He  has  shown  himself  to  be  a  practical  lumberman. 
Weyerhaeuser  and  Dinkman  are  of  German  descent  and  are 
good  substantial  men. 

The  following  mills  are  on  the  Eastern  railway:  The  Sand- 
stone mill  has  cut  about  5,000,000  feet;  and  the  Mora  mill 
about  2,000,000  feet  The  Partridge  mills,  three  in  number, 
owned  by  Kerrick  &  Co.  and  others,  have  cut  25,000,000  feet; 
and  the  Mckerson  mill;  127,000,000  feet. 

DULUTH  AND  THE  ST.  LOUIS  RIVER. 

Passing  beyond  the  boundary  of  the  St  Croix  basin,  I  have 
gathered  some  information  of  the  history  of  lumbering  in 
northeastern  Minnesota,  at  the  west  end  of  lake  Superior  and 
on  the  St  Louis  river,  which  is  here  briefly  stated,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  giving  somewhat  completely  the  records  of  this  great 
industry  throughout  the  east  part  of  our  state. 

The  sawmills  of  West  Duluth,  up  to  the  year  1886,  inclu- 
sive, had  manufactured  160,000,000  feet  of  lumber;  and  their 
product  to  the  present  time  is  probably  about  1,000,000,000 
feet 

At  Thomson,  a  mill  was  built  in  1873  by  A.  M.  Miller,  and 
was  operated  many  years;  its  gross  cut  was  at  least  10^000,000 
feet.  Another  mill,  six  miles  northwest  of  Thomson,  owned 
by  A.  K.  Lovejoy,  cut  5,000,000  feet  or  more.  Both  these  mills 
are  now  dismantled. 

Carlton  has  had  four  sawmills  on  the  same  site,  the  first 
being  built  in  1870.  Their  total  product  is  estimated  as  400.- 
000,000  feet    The  present  mill  is  owned  by  J.  M.  Paine. 

The  first  mall  in  Cloquet,  at  the  head  of  the  rapids  and 
falls  of  the  St  Louis  river,  was  built  in  1878  by  Charles  D. 
Harwood.  It  was  rebuilt  in  1883  by  the  Knife  Falls  Lumber 
Company.  In  1880  two  other  steam  sawmills  were  built  here 
by  C.  N.  Nelson  &  Co.;  and  a  water  power  mill  by  James 
Paine,  McNair  &  Co.  Other  mills  have  been  built  later.  The 
aggregate  lumber  product  of  Cloquet  to  the  present  time  is  es- 
timated to  be  at  least  1,000,000,000  feet,  equalling  or  exceed- 
ing that  of  Duluth. 

Much  lumber  has  been  sawn  also  at  various  localities  on 
the  Mesabi  and  Vermilion  iron  ranges,  including  about  175,- 
000,000  feet  at  Tower  and  Ely  and  in  their  vicinity. 


LUMBERING  IN  THE   ST.  CROIX  VALLEY.  3^3 

CLAM  RIVER  AND  BURNETT  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

In  1872,  Daniel  F.  Smith  built  a  mill  at  Clam  Eiver  Falls, 
Wis.,  which  was  burned  in  1887  at  a  loss  of  $3,000;  cut,  2,000,- 
000  feet.  He  also  built  a  mill  at  Butternut  Lake;  cut,  about 
2,000,000  feet.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  plain,  frank  man.  He  has  filled 
many  positions  with  ability  and  faithfulness.  He  came  to  the 
Valley  in  the  early  fifties. 

In  the  winter  of  1848,  an  Indian  trader  came  to  my  log- 
ging camp  near  Clam  Falls,  with  a  packer  and  two  kegs  of 
whisky.  Twenty  Indians  soon  arrived,  gaudily  painted  and 
feathered.  They  demanded  the  whisky,  but  were  refused,  as  I 
would  not  allow  drinking  at  my  camp.  They  were  about  to 
seize  the  kegs,  when  I  ordered  two  of  my  men  to  carry  the 
whisky  out  of  camp;  and  as  soon  as  they  had  done  so,  I  burst 
both  kegs  with  an  axe,  letting  the  whisky  mingle  with  the 
snow.  The  Indians  licked  up  the  snow,  and  then  surrounded 
me,  hooting  and  dancing  in  a  circle,  calling  me  "Ogema, 
Ogema,"  meaning  brave.  I  gave  them  something  to  eat,  and 
they  left  for  their  wigwams  ten  miles  away. 

Burnett  county  was  named  in  honor  of  a  genial,  kind- 
hearted  and  talented  lawyer,  Thomas  P.  Burnett  of  Prairie  du 
Chien.  He  was  a  Kentuckian  by  birth,  and  was  a  prominent 
man  in  the  northwestern  counties  of  Wisconsin  during  the 
30?s,  40's,  and  50's.  Grantsburg,  the  county  seat  of  Burnett 
county,  was  founded  in  1865,  by  Hon.  Canute  Anderson,  who 
built  a  mill  in  the  Wood  river  valley.  Several  other  mills 
were  also  erected.  The  total  cut  of  these  mills  is  estimated 
at  25,000,000  feet 

Mr.  Anderson  was  the  first  postmaster  in  Burnett  county. 
In  1878  he  represented  his  district  in  the  Wisconsin  legisla- 
ture, and  it  was  mostly  through  his  efforts  that  the  Grantsburg 
branch  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  railroad  was  built.  His 
home  was  a  resort  and  intelligence  office  for  the  settlers, 
strangers  in  a  new  land;  he  assisted  many  a  poor  and  needy 
family.    He  was  accidentally  and  instantly  killed  in  1886. 

Robideau,  a  mixed-blood  Indian,  murdered  Jack  Drake  at 
Wood  Lake,  Burnett  county.  Having  been  arrested  and 
placed  in  confinement  at  St  Croix  Falls,  he  jumped  with  one 
bound  about  fifty  feet  from  a  second  story  window,  passed 


314  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

over  the  watchman's  head  and  made  for  the  woods,  making 
good  his  escape.  Within  a  few  days  afterward  he  murdered 
Alex  Livingstone;  but  he  was  never  arrested.  Drake  and 
Livingstone  were  whisky  venders. 

At  Wood  Lake,  Burnett  county,  Wisconsin,  lived  in  1874 
an  aged  and  blind  Indian  woman  who  calculated  her  pilgrim- 
age on  earth  by  moons.  All  traces  of  her  traditional  beauty 
as  an  Indian  maiden  had  long  since  departed.  Shriveled,  de- 
crepit, bent,  she  was  the  impersonation  of  all  that  is  unlovely 
and  repulsive  in  old  age.  Taciturn  and  sullen,  her  mind  le- 
thargic and  dull,  she  seemed  but  little  more  than  half  alive, 
and  could  not  be  easily  aroused  to  the  comprehension  of  pass- 
ing events,  or  to  the  recognition  of  those  around  her.  She 
must  have  been  very  old.  When  aroused  to  consciousness, 
which  was  but  seldom,  she  would  talk  of  things  long  past.  A 
light  would  come  into  her  sightless  eyes,  as  she  recounted  the 
traditions  or  described  the  manners  and  customs  of  her  peo- 
ple, speaking  with  evident  pride  of  their  ancient  power  and 
prowess  when  her  people  planted  their  tepees  on  the  shores  of 
the  "shining  big  sea  water"  (lake  Superior)  and  drove  their 
enemies,  the  Dakotas,  before  them.  Her  people  wore  blankets 
made  from  the  skins  of  the  moose,  elk,  and  buffalo,  with  caps 
from  skins  of  otter  and  beaver.  There  was  then  an  abundance 
of  "kego"  (fish)  and  "washkish"  (deer).  There  were  no  pale- 
faces then  in  all  the  land  to  drive  them  from  their  tepees  and 
take  their  hunting  grounds.  Of  course  they  had  seen  occa- 
sional whites,  hunters,  trappers,  and  missionaries;  but  the 
formidable  movements  of  the  now  dominant  race  had  not 
fairly  commenced.  Counting  the  years  of  her  life  on  her  fin- 
gers, so  many  moons  representing  a  year,  she  must  have  num- 
bered a  score  beyond  a  century;  and  she  had  consequently 
witnessed,  before  her  eyes  were  dimmed,  the  complete  spolia- 
tion of  her  people's  ancestral  domain. 

TAYLOR'S  FALLS  AND  VICINITY. 

The  Inter-State  Park,  which  covers  the  wonderful  rock 
formations  on  the  Minnesota  side  of  the  St.  Croix  river,  and 
which  has  been  tastefully  improved,  with  the  limited  means 
in  hand,  by  the  superintendent,  George  H.  Hazzard,  was  es- 
tablished in  1895.     Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  share  equally  in 


LUMBERING  IN  THE  ST.  CROIX  VALLEY.  glfr 

this  grand  upheaval  of  trap  rocks,  which  form  the  Dalles. 
They  are  unquestionably  the  most  interesting  volcanic  erup- 
tions east  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  The  testimony  of  thou- 
sands verifies  this  statement  Miss  Fredrika  Bremer,  the  well 
known  Swedish  novelist,  an  intelligent  traveller,  visited  the 
Dalles  in  1849  and  pronounced  them,  in  the  hearing  of  the 
writer,  "One  of  G-od's  beauteous  spots  of  earth." 

Adjacent  to  the  Dalles  are  the  ancient  battlefields  of  the 
Sioux  and  Ojibway  Indians.  The  rocks  and  hills  of  the  St 
Croix  Valley,  from  the  source  of  the  river  to  its  mouth,  have 
often  been  stained  with  Indian  blood.  Your  worthy  presi- 
dent, in  one  of  his  addresses  before  this  Society,  pronounced 
the  tract  between  the  St.  Croix  and  Mississippi  rivers  a  Gol- 
gotha, a  place  of  skulls.  But  now,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  Indians  about  the  head  of  the  river,  all  have  departed; 
some  have  gone  to  homes  in  the  west,  but  most  of  them  to  an 
unknown  land. 

In  1857  a  mill  was  built  in  Taylor's  Falls  by  Kingman  & 
G-urley.  It  was  removed  in  1880;  its  cut  was  about  22,000,000 
feet.  The  Clark  Brothers  built  a  mill  in  the  60's,  but  it  was. 
soon  afterward  removed;  cut,  about  5,000,000  feet 

Ansel  Smith  erected  a  mill  at  Franconia  in  1852,  which, 
passed  through  many  hands.  The  original  owner  died  in  Du- 
luth.  '  This  mill  was  burned  in  1889  at  a  loss  of  |3,000.  Ita 
cut  was  about  20,000,000  feet. 

In  1847  the  St.  Croix  Falls  precinct  covered  both  sides  of 
the  St  Croix  river.  Jerry  Ross,  living  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river  from  Taylor's  Falls,  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace. 
One  day  a  gentleman  called  on  Jerry  and  found  him  delivering 
a  charge  to  a  jury  of  twelve  men  in  a  basswood  grove.  Twelve 
jurors,  good  steadfast  men,  were  marked  lifelike  on  twelve 
basswood  trees.  Jerry  Ross  said  to  his  visitor,  "If  you  are 
the  defendant  in  this  case,  you  are  too  late;  the  case  is  de- 
cided, and  the  jury  discharged." 

In  1851,  a  Mr.  Philbrook,  from  Hudson,  came  to  St.  Croix 
Falls  to  get  married.  Not  finding  anyone  authorized  to  per- 
form the  ceremony,  he  cast  loose  a  raft  of  lumber  from  the 
Wisconsin  shore,  and  Hon.  Ansel  Smith  of  St.  Croix  precinct, 
Washington  county,  united  them  in  marriage.    Another  party, 


21Q  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

of  Taylor's  Falls,  desiring  matrimony,  crossed  the  St  Croix 
on  the  ice  and  climbed  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  trap  rock, 
and  were  there  pronounced  man  and  wife  by  a  Wisconsin 
justice. 

ARCOLA,  WASHINGTON  COUNTY. 

In  1846-47,  Martin  Mower,  David  B.  Loomis,  Joseph  Brew- 
ster, and  W.  H.  C.  Folsom,  built  the  Areola  mill  on  a  land 
claim  owned  by  W.  H.  C.  Folsom.  It  began  operations  in  May, 
1847.  Martin  Mower  afterward  became  the  sole  owner  and 
erected  another  mill  in  1852.  This  property  is  owned,  in  1899, 
by  the  heirs  of  John  E.  Mower.  The  probable  cut  of  the  two 
mills  has  been  15,000,000  feet.  W.  H.  C.  Folsonr  is  the  only 
surviving  member  of  the  firm. 

Martin  and  John  E.  Mower  came  to  the  Valley  in  1840, 
where  they  were  prominent  business  men,  Martin  Mower  being 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  St.  Croix  Boom  Company.  He  built 
a  large  block  in  Stillwater.  John  E.  Mower  represented  the 
counties  of  Washington,  Chisago,  and  Pine,  in  the  fifth  and 
sixth  territorial  councils,  and  again  in  the  seventeenth  state 
legislature.  The  Minnesota  territorial  legislature  affixed  his 
name  to  a  county. 

David  B.  Loomis  was  a  well  known  man,  being  a  member 
of  the  territorial  council  for  four  years,  from  1851  to  1855,  and 
president  of  the  council  one  session.  He  entered  the  army  in 
1861  as  a  lieutenant  in  Company  F,  Second  Minnesota,;  was 
promoted  as  a  captain;  and  served  three  and  a  half  years. 
In  1873  he  represented  Washington  county  in  the  legislature. 

THE  NEVERS  DAM. 

The  Nevers  dam  was  built  in  1891,  ten  miles  above  St. 
Croix  Falls,  at  a  cost  of  $180,000.  The  length  of  the  dam  is 
1,000  feet;  it  has  a  flowage  of  ten  miles,  and  a  possible  head  of 
seventeen  feet  The  purpose  of  this  dam  is  to  hold  the  an- 
nual cut  of  logs,  and  to  supply  the  water,  held  in  the  extensive 
reservoir,  for  driving  the  logs  to  the  St.  Croix  boom.  The  in- 
tention was  to  aid  navigation  and  not  to  impede  it  Litiga- 
tion is  the  result  of  the  building  of  the  dam.  Before  the  dam 
was  built,  navigation  was  impeded  by  the  millions  of  logs  fill- 


LUMBERING  IN   THE   ST.   CROIX  VALLEY.  3^7 

ing  the  river  annually  above  the  boom;  but  the  holding  of  the 
water  above  the  dam  leaves  the  river,  during  much  of  the  year, 
without  its  usual  natural  flow.  The  incorporators  of  the  dam 
are  Sauntry,  Weyerhaeuser,  McClure,  Tozer,  the  Maloy  broth- 
ers, and  others. 

LOG  BOOMS  AND  RAFTS. 

The  St.  Croix  Boom  Company  was  organized  in  1857,  with 
a  capital  stock  of  $25,000.  The  incorporators  were  Orange 
Walker  and  George  B.  Judd  of  Marine;  John  McKusick,  Soc- 
rates Nelson,  and  Levi  B.  Churchill,  of  Stillwater;  Daniel 
Mears  and  William  Kent,  of  Osceola;  and  W.  H.  C.  Folsom, 
of  Taylor's  Falls.  The  boom  was  built  near  Osceola.  In  1866 
the  company  was  reorganized  by  Martin  Mower,  W.  H.  C.  Fol- 
som, Isaac  Staples,  C.  Carli,  and  Samuel  Burkleo,  with  a  capi- 
tal stock  of  $50,000.    The  boom  was  removed  to  Stillwater. 

Much  litigation  ensued  from  the  blockading  of  the  river 
and  impeding  navigation,  which  caused  damages  in  one  season 
to  the  estimated  amount  of  $146,525.  Controversies  arose  as 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  St.  Croix  river;  it  is  the  state  bound- 
ary, and  hence  both  states  claimed  concurrent  power. 

The  officers  of  the  Boom  Company  receive  a  fair  salary,  and 
are  competent  to  attend  to  the  multitude  of  log  marks.  It 
may  not  be  amiss  to  explain  briefly  the  system  of  log  marks. 
It  is  a  language  in  itself.  There  are  over  two  thousand  marks 
recorded,  in  distinct  and  different  characters.  Every  owner 
must  have  his  mark  recorded  or  lose  his  logs.  A  law  has  been 
passed  protecting  the  ownership  of  recorded  marks. 

In  1843,  a  rise  of  water  in  the  St.  Croix  river  broke  the  log 
boom  at  St.  Croix  Falls,  and  about  400,000  feet  of  logs  floated 
down  to  St.  Croix  lake.  Thence  they  were  rafted  down  the 
river  by  John  B.  Page,  and  were  sold  to  Thomas  West  of  St. 
Louis,  Mo.  This  was  the  first  raft  of  logs  run  from  the  St. 
Croix  river  to  the  lower  markets.  Rafts  of  sawn  lumber  were 
run  earlier,  from  the  Marine  mill  in  1839,  and  from  the  St. 
Croix  Falls  mill  in  1842.  A  part  of  the  first  lumber  sawn  at 
Stillwater,  in  1844,  was  also  rafted  south.  During  recent 
years,  on  an  average,  over  three  hundred  and  twenty  rafts  of 
logs  and  lumber  are  annually  floated  out  of  lake  St.  Croix  to 
southern  markets. 


318  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

LUMBER  MANUFACTURING  FARTHER  SOUTH  IN  MINNESOTA. 

That  this  paper  may  include  mention  of  the  beginnings  of 
the  lumber  industry  at  other  places  in  this  state  south  of  the 
St.  Croix  yalley,  I  have  obtained  the  following  notes  of  saw- 
mills in  St.  Paul,  Hastings,  Red  Wing,  and  elsewhere  south- 
ward to  Winona.  The  Red  Wing  mills  have  depended  mainly, 
and  those  farther  south  in  a  considerable  degree,  on  the  St. 
Croix  lumbermen  for  their  supplies  of  logs. 

In  St.  Paul  a  sawmill  was  built  in  the  early  50's  by  John  S. 
Prince,  on  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi  river  a  short  distance 
east  of  the  site  of  the  Union  railway  depot.  After  cutting 
about  a  million  feet  of  lumber,  it  was  sold  to  William  GK  Le 
Due  and  was  removed  by  him  to  Hastings. 

Other  sawmills  in  and  near  St.  Paul  during  the  fifteen 
years  following  1850  were  as  follows:  In  1851,  John  R.  Irvine 
built  a  sawmill  on  the  upper  levee,  near  the  foot  of  Eagle 
street,  which  continued  in  operation  until  1858,  sawing  about 
1,000,000  feet  of  lumber  yearly.  About  the  year  1855,  J.  B. 
Holmes  erected  a  small  sawmill  near  the  spot  where  the 
Union  depot  now  stands.  William  L.  Ames  built  a  mill  near 
the  foot  of  Dayton's  bluff,  which  commenced  operations  about 
the  year  1856  and  continued  four  years,  sawing  about  1,250,000 
feet  of  lumber  each  year,  until  it  was  torn  down  in  1860. 
About  500  feet  below  the  Ames  mill,  the  Sanford  mill  was 
erected  in  1856,  which  continued  in  operation  three  years, 
sawing,  like  the  last,  about  1,250,000  feet  each  year.  In  the 
same  year,  1856,  Stuart,  Cobb  &  Company  erected  a, mill  on 
the  upper  levee,  500  or  600  yards  above  the  Irvine  mill,  and 
nearly  opposite  Sherman  street.  This  mill  continued  in  opera- 
tion four  years,  sawing  about  2,000,000  feet  per  annum.  It 
was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1860.  During  the  year  1857,  Henry 
P.  Upham  and  Col.  Chauncey  W.  Griggs  operated  the  old  Ful- 
ler sawmill,  which  stood  near  the  upper  levee,  on  the  ground 
now  occupied  by  the  Minnesota  Soap  Company,  sawing  1,000,- 
000  feet  of  lumber.  In  1858,  Mr.  Upham  bought  a  small  mill 
that  had  been  built  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi  river, 
just  below  where  the  Wabasha  street  bridge  now  stands;  and 
he  and  Freeman  James  operated  this  mill  about  six  years, 
sawing,  each  year,  about  1,000,000  feet  of  lumber.     At  Pig's 


LUMBERING  IN  THE  ST.  CROIX  VALLEY.  gJ9 

Eye,  William  Davis  and  Joe  Deion  operated  a  sawmill  from 
1861  to  1865. 

Another  sawmill  was  built  in  St,  Paul  about  the  year  1870 
t>y  Louis  Krieger  and  John  M.  Keller,  on  Phalen  creek  just 
above  the  St  Paul  and  Duluth  railroad  depot.  It  operated 
three  years  and  manufactured  about  three  million  feet  of  lum- 
ber, using  logs  brought  by  this  railroad  from  townships  36, 
37,  and  38,  in  range  21,  which  include  Harris,  Rush  City,  and 
Rock  Creek  stations. 

The  pioneer  lumberman  of  Hastings  was  William  G.  Le 
Due,  who  in  1856  built  a  sawmill  beside  the  Mississippi  river 
ni  the  west  edge  of  the  city,  where  now  stands  the  great  mill 
of  Libbey  &  Thompson.  He  purchased  his  first  mill  machin- 
ery in  Ohio,  but  it  proved  a  failure  and  was  replaced  by  the 
machinery  from  Prince's  mill  in  St  Paul.  This  mill  manu- 
factured about  5,000,000  feet  of  lumber. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  1856  another  mill  was 
built  in  Hastings,  by  Phelps,  Graham,  and  Knapp.  It  was 
situated  on  the  slough  at  the  east  end  of  the  city.  After  oper- 
ating three  years,  it  was  sold  to  A.  J.  Short,  who  removed  it 
to  Point  Douglas. 

A  sawmill  that  was  built  by  Bullard  &  Post  in  1853  at 
Wacouta,  a  few  miles  east  of  Red  Wing,  appears  to  have  been 
the  first  west  of  the  Mississippi  in  this  state,  excepting  the 
small  mill  that  supplied  lumber  for  the  construction  of  Fort 
Snelling.  The  Wacouta  mill  operated  five  years,  and  sawed 
.•about  5,000,000  feet  of  lumber. 

The  first  mill  at  Red  Wing  was  built  in  1855  by  Pettibone  & 
Knapp.  This  mill,  after  sawing  about  6,000,000  feet,  was  sold 
in  1861  to  Cogel  &  Retcher,  by  whom  it  was  rebuilt.  Their 
product  during  the  years  1861  to  1875  was  at  least  70,000,000 
feet.  In  1875  this  property  passed  to  the  ownership  of 
Charles  Betcher,  who  estimates  his  production  of  lumber  from 
that  date  until  now  to  be  180,000,000  feet  or  more. 

In  1857,  Grannis,  Daniels  &  Company  built  another  saw- 
mill at  Red  Wing,  which  continued  in  operation  thirty-two 
years,  under  successive  owners,  being  finally  burned.  Its 
rgross  cut  is  estimated  as  at  least  130,000,000  feet. 


320  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

A  third  mill,  built  here  also  in  1857,  by  a  Boston  capitalist 
named  Drew,  sawed  only  half  a  million  feet,  when  its  work 
ceased  on  account  of  the  financial  panic  of  that  year.  This 
mill  building,  removed  a  short  distance,  is  now  in  use  as  the 
railway  freight  house. 

In  1856  and  later,  sawmills  have  been  operated  at  Fronte- 
nac  and  Central  Point,  their  product  being  probably  about 
10,000,000  feet 

At  Read's  Landing,  in  the  autumn  of  1854,  William  K. 
Marshall,  Joseph  M.  Marshall,  and  N.  P.  Langford,  erected  a 
mill  which  cut  about  1,200,000  feet  of  lumber.  Then  the  prop- 
erty was  sold,  in  the  summer  of  1855,  to  Knapp,  Tainter  and 
Wilson,  lumbermen  of  Menomonie,  Wisconsin,  who  enlarged 
the  mill  and  continued  to  operate  it  several  years,  until  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire. 

In  Winona  the  first  sawmill  was  one  of  small  capacity, 
built  by  Highlands  &  Wyckoff  in  the  fall  of  1855.  It  was 
burned  five  years  afterward.  The  next  sawmill  was  erected 
in  1857  by  Laird,  Norton  &  Company,  who  continue  still  in 
business.  Their  mill  was  rebuilt  in  1879;  and  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  and  was  rebuilt  again  on  a  very  large  scale,  in 
1885.  The  third  mill  was  built  in  1858  by  the  Youmans  Broth- 
ers, and  was  rebuilt  in  1881,  being  now  one  of  the  largest  and 
best  equipped  sawmills  in  this  state.  With  these,  since  1881, 
this  city  has  had  the  large  mill  of  the  Winona  Lumber  Com- 
pany; and,  since  1882,  that  of  the  Empire  Lumber  Company. 

The  production  of  lumber  in  Winona,  according  to  esti- 
mates supplied  to  me  by  Hon.  Thomas  Simpson  and  Mr.  W.  H. 
Laird,  has  been  approximately  as  follows :  During  the  years 
1858  to  1868,  inclusive,  about  160,000,000  feet;  in  the  next  ten 
years,  325,000,000  feet;  in  the  next  decade,  1,150,000,000  feet; 
and  in  the  last  ten  years,  1889  to  1898,  inclusive,  about  1,400,- 
000,000  feet.  The  total  for  these  forty-one  years  has  been  thus 
about  3,035,000,000  feet  of  sawn  lumber;  to  which  should  be 
added  a  large  value  of  laths  and  shingles. 

During  the  years  1858  to  1870  the  logs  used  in  sawing  at 
Winona  came  largely  from  the  St.  Croix  river  and  its  tribu- 
taries.   Since  1870  they  have  mostly  come  from  the  Chippewa 


LUMBERING  IN   THE   ST.   CROIX  VALLEY.  3£1 

river  of  Wisconsin.  In  1871  the  Beef  Slough,  branching  from 
the  Chippewa  near  its  mouth  and  continuing  beside  the  Missis- 
sippi almost  to  Winona,  began  to  be  used  for  running  the 
Chippewa  logs  and  making  them  into  rafts,  under  the  control 
of  the  Mississippi  River  Logging  Company,  which  includes  the 
owners  of  the  Winona  mills.  But  w ithin  the  last  five  years  a 
portion  of  the  Winona  supply  of  logs  has  been  again  derived 
from  the  St.  Croix  valley. 

SUMMARY  AND  STATISTICS. 

During  the  period  of  sixty  years  of  lumbering  in  the  St. 
Croix  valley  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  mills  have  been 
erected,  for  the  manufacture  almost  exclusively  of  pine  tim- 
ber. Of  this  number  of  mills  only  twenty-seven  are  running 
in  1899.  So  few  mills  now  are  doing  the  work,  with  an  in- 
creased product  of  millions  of  lumber  annually,  which  is  due 
to  the  late  improvements  in  machinery.  Mills  now  cutting 
from  ten  to  forty-five  millions  per  season  are  doing  what  in 
former  years  would  have  required  the  running  of  ten  or  fifteen 
mills,  to  manufacture  the  same  amount  in  the  same  time. 

In  the  following  tabulated  statistics  the  logs  noted  as  cut 
prior  to  the  boom  output  in  1851  are  reported  beyond  in  the 
manufacturers'  table,  excepting  55,000,000  feet  rafted  to  St. 
Louis. 

The  earliest  statistics  are  from  persons  operating,  and  the 
later  from  record  books.  I  give  the  figures  in  round  numbers. 
The  table  includes  logs  cut  and  floated  down  the  St.  Croix 
river  and  its  tributaries. 

Amount  of  Logs  cut  from  1837  to  1898. 

Year.  Feet.  Year.  Feet. 

1837-38. 300,000      1845 14,000,000 

1838-39 700,000      1846. 25,500,000 

1840 1,500,000      1847 26,000,000 

1841 2,500,000      1848 37,000,000 

1842 3,000,000      1849 50,000,000 

1843. 3,500,000      1850. 75,000,000 

1844.... 8,500,000 

The  following  figures  give  the  boom  output  from  1851  to 
1898: 

21 


322  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS.  : 

Year.               Feet.  Year.  Feet. 

1851 107,000,000  1875 121,389,720 

1852 110,000,000  1876 152,520,000 

1853 120,000,000  1877 140,540,890 

1854 125,000,000  1878 132,735,870 

1855 130,000,000  1879 201,763,500 

1856 135,000,000  1880 201,440,000 

1857 140,000,000  1881 231,000,500 

1858 142,000,000  1882 273,810,400 

1859 145,000,000  1883 271,272,800 

1860 150,000,000  1884 274,350,600 

1861 140,000,000  1885 225,540,800 

1862 175,000,000  1886 191,454,500 

1863 150,000,000  1887 270,060,100 

1864 140,000,000  1888 365,486,300 

1865 130,000,000  1889 262,385,980 

1866 145,000,000  1890 452,360,890 

1867 128,000,000  1891 315,180,700 

1868 145,000,000  1892 436,899,770 

1869 150,000,000  1893 359,468,720 

1870 165,000,000  1894 281,470,400 

1871 170,000,000  1895 353,062,850 

1872 181,000,000  1896 321,764,530 

1873 160,000,000  1897 311,615,170 

1874 120,000,000  1898 344,728,217 

Recapitulation  of  Logs  and  Sawn  Lumber. 

Feet. 

Log  output  from  the  boom,  1851  to  1898 9,895,303,207 

From  Willow  river,  Wisconsin 100,000,000 

Logs  rafted  before  1851 55,000,000 


Total  of  logs  from  the  St.  Croix  and  tributaries,  board 

measure 10,050,303,207 

This  amount  does  not  include  the  logs  sawn  into  lumber 
at  mills  on  the  railroads,  which  are  placed  in  the  following 
statistics  of  lumber  manufactured  on  the  St.  Croix  and  within 
its  drainage  area. 

Feet 

Above  the  boom. ! 347,000,000 

Below  the  boom 3,352,000,000 

On  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  railroad 1,397,000,000 

On  the  C,  St.  P.,  M.  &  Omaha  railway. 1,960,000,000 

On  the  Eastern  Minnesota  railway 159,000,000 

On  Apple  river  and  Balsam  creek 117,000,000 

On  Clam  and  Wood  rivers 27,000,000 

Total  of  sawn  lumber 7,359,000,000 


I/CJMBEKING  IN  THE   ST.   CROIX  VALLEY.  g£3 

A  considerable  part  of  this  amount  was  cut  on  adjacent 
areas  drained  by  branches  of  the  Chippewa  river.  From  this 
and  the  foregoing  tables,  we  obtain  the  total  amount  of  pine 
timber  cut  in  the  St.  Croix  basin,  approximately,  14,054,000,- 
000  feet.  The  value  of  this  timber,  for  the  St.  Croix  basin, 
before  it  was  cut,  called  its  stumpage  value,  may  be  estimated 
at  $3  per  thousand,  amounting  to  $42,162,000. 

Cost  of  Labor  in  Lumbering,  18S7  to  1898. 

The  amount  paid  for  labor  in  lumbering  in  the  St.  Croix 
valley  has  been  approximately  as  follows : 

Manufacturing  7,359,000,000  feet  of  lumber $17,661,600 

Cutting,  driving,  boomage  and  rafting  of  6,695,000,000  feet 

of  logs,  sawn  farther  south 3,347,500 

Boom  labor  on  10,050,303,000  feet 5,018,800 

Manufacturing  shingles,  laths,  and  pickets 1,000,000 

Labor  on  Nevers  dam 100,000 

Miscellaneous  labor,  as  building  mills 1,100,000 

Total  cost  of  labor $28,227,900 

The  disbursement  of  this  vast  sum  has  been  largely  to  the 
surrounding  states,  much  of  the  wages,  as  of  the  lumber,  being 
taken  from  the  Valley  to  build  the  farm  houses,  towns,  and 
cities  of  our  great  prairie  region.  Many  a  young  man,  in  cen- 
tral and  western  Minnesota,  and  the  Dakotas,  received  his 
first  money  for  labor  performed  at  the  boom,  in  the  mills,  or 
in  the  pineries,  which  laid  the  foundations  for  many  happy, 
prosperous  homes. 

The  wages  paid  in  states  farther  south  for  manufacturing 
the  lumber  of  logs  run  from  the  St.  Croix  valley  to  southern 
markets  is  estimated  as  about  f  10,000,000. 

Losses  by  Fires. 

The  losses  by  fires  destroying  mills  and  lumber  in  the  Val- 
ley, not  including  losses  of  standing  pine  timber  burned,  have 
been  approximately  as  follows : 

On  the  St.  Croix  lake  and  river $334,000 

On  the  CM  St.  P.,  M.  &  Omaha  railway 620,000 

On  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  railroad  and  its  branches 185,000 

Total  $1,139,000 


324  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Estimates  of  the  amount  of  timber  standing  in  the  Valley 
are  very  conjectural.  Some  of  the  large  firms  place  their 
limit  of  operations  at  five  to  ten  years.  But  the  history  of 
pine  timber  in  pine-growing  countries,  in  many  instances, 
proves  that  this  timber  may  be  reproduced,  growing  anew, 
after  the  original  growth  has  been  removed,  if  fires  are  kept 
subdued.  The  growth  of  protected  timber  is  equivalent  to  a 
good  interest  on  the  investment,  Our  forests  should  be  pre- 
served and  protected  against  fires  and  hunters,  even  if  a  pen- 
alty be  imposed.  With  proper  precautions,  billions  of  valua- 
ble pine  timber  could  thus  be  saved;  and  the  same  is  true  also 
of  our  almost  equally  valuable  hardwood  timber. 

In  1819,  Crawford  county  was  organized  under  the  admin- 
istration of  Gov.  Lewis  Cass  of  Michigan  Territory;  and  that 
single  county  embraced  within  its  bounds  wrhat  are  now  the 
States  of  Iowa,  Minnesota,  the  Dakotas,  and  the  western  part 
of  Wisconsin.  Judge  James  D.  Doty,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  years,  held  the  first  district  court,  in  1824,  at  Prairie  du 
Chien,  the  county  seat.  Under  the  jurisdiction  of  Crawford 
county  tribunals,  criminals  were  transferred  from  the  upper 
Mississippi  valley  to  Prairie  du  Chien  for  trial.  The  writer 
of  this  paper  settled  in  Crawford  county  in  1837,  sixty-two 
years  ago.  I  have  since  continuously  resided  in  what  was  old 
CrawTf ord  county,  and  during  the  last  forty-nine  years  at  Tay- 
lor's Falls.  The  boundary  lines  have  been  changed  a  number 
of  times,  leaving  me,  in  1899,  in  the  State  of  Minnesota. 


DANIEL  STANCH  FIELD. 


Minnesota  Historical  Soci ety, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  VI. 


HISTORY  OF  PIONEER  LUMBERING  ON  THE 
UPPER  MISSISSIPPI  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES, 
WITH  BIOGRAPHIC  SKETCHES.* 


BY  DANIEL  STANCHPIELD. 


Personal  Narration. 

My  earliest  home  memories  and  first  experience  of  toil 
were  associated  with  the  pine,  woods  of  Maine,  where  I  was 
born,  in  Leeds  township,  June  8th,  1820.  Up  to  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  I  attended  school  and  worked  on  my  father's 
farm,  which  he  had  purchased  in  Milo  township,  then  part  of 
the  great  forest  region  of  Maine.  Our  work  consisted  largely 
in  cutting  down  the  timber  and  burning  it  to  clear  the  farm, 
a  few  acres  being  thus  added  each  year  to  the  tract  under 
cultivation  and  pasturage. 

In  the  year  1839,  responding  to  the  call  of  Governor  Fair- 
field, I  enlisted,  with  the  state  militia  company  of  which  I  was 
a  member,  and  served  eight  months  in  the  campaign  for  de- 
fense of  the  rights  of  Maine  and  of  the  United  States  in  the 
establishment  of  the  boundary  between  northern  Maine  and 
Canada. 

During  much  of  the  time  for  the  next  five  years  I  was 
engaged  with  lumbermen  in  cutting  logs  and  driving  them 
down  tributaries  of  the  Penobscot  river,  and  also  worked 
during  parts  of  these  years  in  sawmills. 

In  the  autumn  of  1844,  I  set  my  face  toward  the  west,  tak- 
ing passage,  September  1st,  in  the  steamer  Bangor,  to  Boston, 
thence  going  by  railway  to  Albany,  and  by  canal  to  Buffalo. 
The  canal  passage  across  the  state  of  New  York  took  seven 
days. 


*Read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,  May  8,  1899. 


326  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Thence  the  trip  to  Chicago  was  by  the  steamer  Nile,  and 
we  encountered  a  very  severe  storm  on  Lake  Huron.  Reach- 
ing Chicago,  I  was  disappointed  in  the  appearance  of  that  far 
advertised  city.  Lots  close  west  of  the  river  could  be  pur- 
chased for  two  hundred  dollars. 

After  a  few  days'  stay  in  Chicago,  I  went  on  by  stage  to 
Belvidere,  Illinois,  near  which  place  my  elder  brother  George, 
who  had  come  west  earlier,  was  farming.  His  children  were 
sick  with  the  ague.  According  to  my  wish,  he  sold  his  prop- 
erty in  Belvidere,  and  we  together  moved  onward  to  a  healthier 
location  near  Freeport,  in  northwestern  Illinois,  where  he  took 
a  farming  claim  of  government  land. 

During  the  following  winter  I  explored  the  Galena  mining 
region,  and  in  the  spring  of  1845  went  to  the  Wisconsin 
pineries.  Two  years  of  hard  work  in  lumbering  and  sawing 
followed,  with  good  investments  of  money  partly  brought  from 
Maine  and  partly  earned  during  these  years.  The  spring  and 
summer  of  the  next  year,  1847,  found  me  rafting  lumber  down 
the  Wisconsin  river  and  thence  down  the  Mississippi,  selling 
it  in  Dubuque,  Galena,  Quincy,  and  St.  Louis.  As  lumber 
bought  in  northern  Wisconsin,  rafted,  and  sold  in  these  grow- 
ing towns  and  cities  along  the  Mississippi,  brought  large  prof- 
its, I  decided  to  return  in  the  fall  to  the  pineries  and  continue 
in  this  business. 

ARKIVAL  IN  MINNESOTA. 

While  I  was  resting  for  a  part  of  the  summer  of  1847,  in 
St.  Louis,  after  the  sale  of  my  lumber,  the  heat  became  so 
intense  that  I  decided  to  leave  for  my  voyage  up  the  river. 
Just  then  Capt.  John  Atchison,  with  his  steamer  Lynx,  arrived 
from  New  Orleans,  carrying  a  cargo  of  government  supplies 
for  Fort  Snelling,  and  having  on  board  a  pleasure  party  for 
the  same  destination.  I  secured  a  stateroom  and  joined  the 
party.  They  were  all  southerners  excepting  myself,  a  jolly 
crowd  of  ladies  and  gentlemen.  The  captain  of  the  boat  sup- 
plied a  brass  band  that  played  and  entertained  us  all  day,  and 
then  furnished  string  music  to  dance  by  in  the  evening.  Thus 
the  whole  trip  was  spent  in  pleasure,  and  the  time  passed 
rapidly  until  we  arrived  at  Fort  Snelling. 


.vfSL-'-.,.  [f'*%h 


FRANKLIN  STEELE. 


Minnesota  Hibtokioal  Sooikty, 

Vol..  IX.    Plate  VII. 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  327 

There  Mr.  Franklin  Steele  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  party 
with  carriages  to  convey  us  across  the  waving  prairie  to  St. 
Anthony  falls.  I  rode  with  Mr.  Steele  in  a  two-wheeled  cart, 
and  he  entertained  me  by  describing  his  claim  at  the  falls, 
and  the  improvements  contemplated  for  the  following  autumn. 
At  the  end  of  our  ride,  he  pointed  out  the  site  of  the  dam  and 
the  sawmill  he  intended  to  build,  while  the  steward  of  the 
boat  was  preparing  dinner  for  the  party  on  the  grass,  between 
the  spring  and  the  old  gristmill. 

When  all  the  carriages  had  arrived,  every  one  was  anxious 
to  secure  the  best  view  of  this  magnificent  body  of  water  as 
it  plunged  and  seethed  over  the  rocks  on  its  long  journey  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Thousands  of  people  had  gazed  on  this 
grand  spectacle,  but  no  man  with  capital  as  yet  had  attempted 
to  utilize  this  wonderful  natural  water  power.  The  bell  rang 
for  dinner,  and  the  party  gathered  to  the  feast.  There  were 
luxuries  prepared  by  the  steward,  and  delicacies  prepared  by 
the  ladies  and  distributed  by  their  own  hands.  There  were 
good  wines  in  abundance,  which  made  the  crowd  merry,  and 
two  hours  were  spent  in  feasting  and  drinking.  But  clouds 
were  gathering  and  indicated  a  shower  very  soon,  and  that 
the  party  would  get  a  drenching  before  they  could  reach  the 
boat.  The  horses  were  urged  on,  and  the  party  reached  Min- 
nehaha falls  as  the  rain  began  to  pour  down.  Those  in  open 
carriages  found  shelter  under  the  shelving  rock,  where  they 
were  secure  until  the  storm  passed  over,  when  all  returned 
to  the  steamer.  The  captain  had  invited  the  officers  and 
their  wives  from  the  fort  to  join  in  the  dance  in  the  evening, 
and  all  had  a  good  time. 

I  rode  back  to  the  steamer  with  Mr.  Steele,  and  we  dis- 
cussed more  thoroughly  his  claim  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony, 
and  the  improvements  he  wished  to  make  on  it.  He  wanted 
me  to  examine  the  claim,  and,  as  soon  as  he  should  hear  favor- 
ably from  Hon.  Caleb  Gushing  and  other  eastern  capitalists 
forming  a  company  for  the  manufacture  of  lumber  at  the 
falls,  he  wanted  me  to  explore  the  upper  Mississippi  for  pine. 
When  the  dance  was  over,  I  bade  the  company  good-night  and 
the  excursion  party  adieu,  and  had  my  baggage  put  ashore 
and  removed  to  the  hotel  kept  by  Philander  Preseott,  where 
I  tarried  until  I  started  on  my  exploring  trip. 


328  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

In  the  morning  the  steamer  was  gone,  when  Mr.  Steele 
and  I  crossed  the  ferry  at  the  fort  and  went  up  the  east  side 
of  the  Mississippi  to  the  falls.  Everything  was  just  as  nature 
had  made  it,  and  the  scenery  of  the  islands  and  river  bluffs 
was  indeed  beautiful.  Civilized  man  had  seen  it,  but  had  left 
no  evidence  that  it  had  ever  been  visited  before.  The  falls 
looked  abandoned.  No  new  improvements  could  be  seen  any- 
where. A  few  weather-beaten  buildings  marked  the  sites  of 
Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  and  Stillwater.  At  St.  Croix  Falls  a 
mill  and  hotel  had  been  recently  built,  and  these  were  the 
only  new  improvements  or  new  buildings  in  the  whole  country. 

Benjamin  Cheever,  Cushing's  agent,  came  from  St.  Croix 
Falls  to  Fort  Snelling  to  finish  up  the  agreement  for  the  im- 
provements to  be  made  on  the  Franklin  Steele  water-power 
claim  at  St.  Anthony  falls.  Cushing  had  written  to  Mr. 
Cheever  what  he  would  do,  and  that,  if  Mr.  Steele  was  satis- 
fied, the  writings  should  be  drawn  up.  The  conversation  took 
place  in  Mr.  Steele's  front  parlor,  and  the  argument  lasted  all 
day.  I  was  also  present.  The  contention  was  that  the  claim 
was  not  adequate  security  for  the  capital  necessary  for  the 
improvements,  as  it  was  on  unsurveyed  land,  and  it  was  settled 
in  the  following  manner. 

Franklin  Steele,  of  Fort  Snelling,  Wisconsin  Territory,  and 
Caleb  Cushing,  Robert  Rantoul,  and  their  associates,  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, entered  into  an  agreement  to  make  the  improve- 
ments for  the  manufacture  of  pine  timber  at  the  Falls  of  St. 
Anthony,  on  the  Steele  claim  on  unsurveyed  government  land. 
It  was  agreed,  between  the  capitalists  and  Mr.  Steele,  that, 
before  the  advancing  of  capital,  the  Mississippi  river  and  its 
branches  above  the  falls  should  be  explored  by  me,  and  that 
a  written  report  should  be  made  by  me  of  the  estimated 
amount  of  pine  found,  and  of  the  navigation  of  the  river  and 
its  tributaries.  On  the  receipt  of  my  report,  Cushing  and 
Company  were  to  decide  on  the  amount  of  capital  they  would 
invest  in  the  improvement  for  lumber  manufacturing  on  Mr. 
Steele's  claim. 

Soon  after  this  agreement  was  made,  Benjamin  Cheever 
returned  east,  and  within  a  year  he  died.  His  brother,  Wil- 
liam A.  Cheever,  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  St.  Anthony,  set- 
tling there  in  the  same  year,  1847. 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  g29 

EXPLORATION  OP  THE  PINERIES  ON  THE  RUM  RIVER. 

It  was  near  the  end  of  summer  when  the  outfit  was  in 
readiness  for  my  exploring  voyage.  On  the  first  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1847,  there  were  seen,  by  Pierre  Bottineau  and  others, 
three  men,  his  younger  brother,  Severre  Bottineau,  Charles 
Manock,  and  myself,  paddling  in  a  bark  canoe  up  the  east  shore 
of  the  Mississippi  river  above  St.  Anthony  falls.  When  op- 
posite what  is  now  called  Boom  Island,  we  were  hailed  by 
Pierre  from  the  shore,  saying,  "'How  far  do  you  expect  to 
travel  in  that  canoe  at  this  low  stage  of  water?  The  bottom 
will  be  out  of  the  canoe  in  less  than  a  week."  We  answered, 
""To  Mille  Lacs,  the  source  of  Rum  river;"  and  the  canoe  and 
party  moved  on  up  the  Mississippi.  This  little  exploring 
party's  report,  the  money  consequently  supplied  from  the  east, 
and  Franklin  Steele's  perseverance  and  unlimited  will,  made 
it  possible  to  make  the  improvements  on  unsurveyed  govern- 
ment land.  My  written  report  secured  the  capital  from  Caleb 
Cushing  and  his  associates;  and  his  influence  in  Congress  se- 
cured the  survey  of  the  government  land  adjoining  the  falls 
and  including  this  claim.  The  discovery  by  the  exploring 
party  of  the  almost  inexhaustible  pine  timber  above  the  falls 
of  St.  Anthony,  heralded  throughout  all  the  states  and  Can- 
ada, brought  immigration  from  every  state,  and  changed  this 
part  of  the  territory  from  barbarism  to  civilization. 

When  the  exploring  party  went  up  the  Mississippi  river, 
half  of  the  present  state  of  Wisconsin  was  the  hunting  ground 
of  the  Ojibway  Indians,  three-fourths  of  what  is  now  Minne- 
sota was  owned  by  the  same  people,  and  all  the  area  of  the 
Dakotas  was  owned  by  the  Sioux  Indians.  Since  1847  four 
states  have  been  carved  out  of  that  territory  and  admitted  to 
the  Union. 

Returning  to  the  exploring  party  in  the  canoe,  we  find 
them  camped  at  the  mouth  of  Eum  river,  with  the  timber 
crew  that  came  up  the  road.  This  crew  of  twenty  men  or 
more  were  to  advance  with  the  exploring  party  until  the  first 
pine  was  discovered;  and  then  they  were  immediately  to  pro- 
ceed to  hew  and  bank  timber  until  the  return  of  that  party. 
They  pushed  on  the  second  day  to  the  head  of  the  rapids, 
about  fifteen  miles.    The  canoe  had  to  be  carried  a  part  of  the 


330  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

distance,  the  water  being  too  shallow  to  float  it.  We  camped 
on  the  bank  of  the  river  the  second  night,  with  the  timber 
crew,  and  the  third  night  in  a  tract  of  scrub  pine,  known  aft- 
erward as  the  Dutchman's  grove,  about  three  miles  northwest 
of  the  present  town  of  Cambridge.  The  timber  crew  I  located 
there. 

Our  party  in  the  canoe  started  on  up  the  river  to  explore 
it  all  the  way  to  Mille  Lacs  and  see  what  could  be  found.  The 
bottomland  was  wide;  the  growth  of  timber  was  thick,  but 
wholly  of  deciduous  species,  with  no  pine;  and  the  river  was 
crooked.  The  mosquito,  the  gnat,  and  the  moose-fly,  met  and 
opposed  us.  They  were  first  in  the  fight.  The  battle  com- 
menced early  each  morning  and  lasted  all  day.  It  was  a 
bravely  contested  battle;  for  ten  days  the  blood  flowed  freely. 
The  enemy  contested  every  foot  of  ground.  The  fight  on  our 
side  was  for  civilization;  on  theirs  for  barbarism.  When 
night  came  we  crawled  under  the  mosquito  bar  that  was  set 
up,  where  all  was  protected  and  secure  for  sleep.  But  the 
men  were  discouraged  with  the  prolonged  struggle  each  day, 
and  said  that  it  would  be  better  to  return  and  wait  until  later 
in  the  autumn,  and  that  if  we  continued  I  would  be  dead  in 
less  than  a  week;  but  in  the  morning  the  canoe  was  moving 
on  up  the  river. 

The  third  day  from  where  we  left  the  timber  crew,  I  saw 
on  the  west  shore  a  tributary  which  I  wished  to  explore.  We 
had  passed  over  sixty  miles  of  the  meandering  river  course 
above  the  timber  camp,  and  had  carried  the  canoe  for  miles 
over  jams  in  the  river  made  by  trunks  of  trees  that  had  been 
washed  and  torn  out  of  the  bank  and  had  floated  down  and 
filled  the  river.  Up  to  this  time  no  tracts  of  pine  forest  had 
been  discovered.  On  the  following  morning  after  coming  to 
this  tributary,  I  started  to  explore  it  for  pine.  On  each  side, 
all  the  country  was  covered  with  pine  and  hardwood  for 
miles  away  from  the  stream,  as  far  as  it  was  navigable.  It 
was  called  the  West  branch  of  Eum  river.  At  its  mouth  is 
now  located  the  town  of  Princeton.  This  branch  was  well 
timbered  for  more  than  twenty-five  miles,  as  also  were  all  its 
tributaries.  The  pine  on  each  side  was  from  three  to  six  miles 
wide.  Its  amount  could  hardly  be  estimated  until  the  land 
should  be  surveyed  into  townships  and  sections. 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  33  \ 

We  returned  to  the  eanoe  and  pushed  on  up  the  main  river, 
until,  about  dark,  we  came  to  a  small  stream  where  we  camped. 
The  next  day  I  explored  this  stream  to  its  source,  eight  miles 
or  more.  There  was  pine  on  both  shores.  There  was  also 
pine  on  each  side  of  the  main  river.  I  made  it  a  practice  to 
climb  a  tall  tree  every  six  miles  when  exploring,  and  to  look 
from  its  top  across  the  woods  which  reached  far  away  in  every 
direction. 

A  large  tributary,  the  most  northern  entering  from  the 
west,  which  was  afterwTard  called  Bradbury  brook,  had  the 
finest  pine  I  had  seen.  This  brook,  in  its  south  and  north 
forks,  was  navigable  for  log  driving,  with  pine  on  both  shores. 

The  pine  on  the  main  river  reached  from  the  shore,  on  each 
side,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see  from  the  top  of  the  highest 
tree,  along  all  its  extent  of  fifty  miles  or  more  from  the  mouth 
of  the  West  branch  to  Mille  Lacs.  I  had  seen  far  more  pine 
than  the  company  expected  to  find. 

Billions  of  feet  of  pine  that  grew  upon  the  shores  of  Rum 
river  and  its  tributaries  belonged  to  the  red  man  in  1847, 
but  has  since  been  cut  and  removed  by  the  civilized  paleface, 
whose  capital  and  influence  in  Congress  obtained  from  the 
Indian  the  title  and  possession  of  this  land  and  its  timber. 
When  once  stripped  of  the  pine  forest  which  was  its  wealth, 
the  land,  formerly  the  hunting  ground  of  the  Indians,  ought 
to  revert  to  its  original  owners,  as  the  inheritance  given  them 
by  the  Great  Spirit.  A  large  part  of  it  is  worthless  for  agri- 
culture, but  was  a  source  of  sustenance  to  the  red  man. 
Abundance  of  game,  and  thousands  of  bushels  of  wild  rice, 
together  with  the  sugar  made  from  the  sap  of  the  maple  trees 
which  are  found  in  abundance,  supplied  to  the  simple  Ojibway 
an  easy  living.  The  annuities  which  our  government  now  al- 
lows them  do  not  repay  half  of  what  they  relinquished  in  giv- 
ing up  their  lands  to  the  settler  and  the  lumberman. 

When  the  exploring  crew  came  to  the  Rice  lakes,  eight 
miles  from  Mille  Lacs,  the  squaws  had  tied  the  rice  together 
for  threshing,  and  therefore  the  canoe  could  not  pass  through 
and  had  to  be  taken  to  the  shore.  We  walked  to  Mille  Lacs, 
which  we  found  to  be  a  very  large  body  of  water,  too  broad 
for  one  standing  on  the  shore  to  see  the  land  on  its  farthest 
side.    Here  we  found  a  band  of  Indians  and  an  old  chief,  sec- 


332  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

ond  in  authority  to  Hole-in-the-Day.  They  had  planted  small 
gardens,  and  seemed  like  half -civilized  people.  We  were 
treated  as  braves  and  given  plenty  of  game,  corn,  and  potatoes. 

On  the  shores  of  the  Rice  lakes,  which  we  had  passed,  many 
Indians  were  encamped.  In  the  lakes,  for  more  than  six  miles, 
they  were  gathering  the  wild  rice.  I  had  never  seen  that  arti- 
cle of  food  before,  and  desired  to  know  how  it  was  harvested 
and  prepared  for  food.  When  the  rice  is  ready  for  gathering, 
it  is  made  into  bundles  by  drawing  two  or  three  straws  around 
a  bunch  and  tying  them.  They  make  lines  or  rows  of  these 
bunches  across  the  lake;  and  each  family  has  from  two  to  five 
rows.  Each  has  a  canoe  with  a  blanket  spread  in  the  bottom 
to  hold  the  rice.  The  canoe  is  run  between  two  rows  by  two 
squaws,  and  they  pull  the  tops  of  the  bunches  of  rice  over  the 
side  of  the  canoe  and  pound  them  with  a  stick.  In  this  simple 
way  they  secure  large  quantities  of  this  nutritious  grain. 
After  it  has  been  winnowed,  it  is  prepared  for  packing  by 
heating  it  in  camp  kettles  over  a  fire  until  it  is  parched.  The 
grain  then  is  put  into  packages  for  storage,  and  it  will  keep 
for  years.  The  packages,  which  the  Ojibways  call  mokuks, 
are  made  of  birch  bark,  and  are  pitched  like  a  canoe.  They 
hold  from  a  half  bushel  to  one  bushel,  and  are  stored  away 
in  the  ground  for  winter,  being  covered  with  leaves  and  old 
'bark. 

Fifty-four  years  have  passed  since  I  first  dealt  with  the 
Indians.  In  all  my  experience,  they  have  been  found  more 
true  and  honorable  than  most  of  the  white  men  with  whom 
they  have  come  in  contact  on  the  frontier. 

In  our  return  from  this  exploration  we  saw  sugar  maple 
woods,  where  the  Indians  of  Mille  Lacs  and  Eum  river  make 
a  part  of  their  yearly  supply  of  sugar.  I  have  since  seen  their 
sugar  camps  in  the  spring  in  full  operation.  They  use  the 
birch  bark  for  vessels  to  hold  the  sap,  and  it  is  boiled  in  their 
iron  camp  kettles.  The  hot  syrup  is  strained  through  a  blan- 
ket, and  on  cooling  it  granulates  and  makes  finely  flavored 
sugar. 

I  smoked  the  pipe  of  peace  with  the  Mille  Lacs  chief;  and, 
in  compliance  with  my  request,  he  sent  one  of  his  braves  with 
me  to  receive  presents  where  we  had  left  the  canoe.  I  found 
everything  in  readiness  to  return  to  the  timber  camp,  which 


CALEB  D.  DORR. 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  VIII. 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  333. 

we  reached  in  a  few  days.  We  were  badly  disfigured  by  the 
mosquitoes  and  flies,  and  our  necks  were  raw  in  places.  Look- 
ing in  the  glass,  one  would  have  been  disgusted  with  his  ap- 
pearance; but  I  was  overjoyed  with  what  I  had  discovered. 
I  had  found  far  more  pine  timber  than  could  reasonably  be 
expected,  and  the  exploration  had  been  made  in  less  than  one 
month's  time. 

I  made  out  my  report  and  dispatched  a  man  to  the  fort 
to  Mr.  Steele,  telling  him  that  I  had  seen  pine  that  seventy 
mills  could  not  cut  in  as  many  years,  although  I  had  seen  but 
a  small  part  of  it.  This  report  went  east,  and  an  answer  was 
returned  before  my  arrival  at  the  fort,  as  I  remained  with  the 
lumbering  crew  for  driving  their  logs  down  to  St.  Anthony 
falls.  Relying  on  my  report,  Cushing,  Rantoul  and  Company 
supplied  to  Mr.  Steele  f  10,000  as  their  part  of  the  investment 
herein  constructing  the  dam,  building  a  sawmill,  and  begin- 
ning the  manufacture  of  lumber. 

LOSS  OF  THE  FIRST  LOG  DRIVE. 

The  logging  crew  had  everything  in.  order  for  the  drive. 
The  water  was  low,  and  at  the  beginning  the  flies  and  mos- 
quitoes were  still  abundant.  We  made  slow  progress,  occu- 
pying nearly  four  weeks  in  reaching  the  Mississippi  river.  It 
was  then  the  first  of  November;  cold  weather  had  come,  and 
a  storm  was  in  the  clouds.  We  had  only  a  temporary  boom 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  hold  the  timber,  and  the  rope  I 
had  ordered  to  hold  the  boom  had  not  arrived.  The  men  were 
worn  out,  having  been  wading  in  the  cold  water  for  more 
than  a  week.  I  had  left  a  man  to  watch  the  progress  of  the 
storm,  and  to  wake  the  crew  if  there  should  be  any  change. 
The  snow  was  falling  fast,  and  it  was  frozen  on  the  timber  in 
the  river  by  the  cold  wind  from  the  north.  At  midnight  a  cry 
came  to  the  crew  that  the  boom  had  broken  and  all  the  timber 
had  gone  into  the  Mississippi.  On  reaching  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  I  saw  at  a  glance  that  all  was  gone,  and  that  the  main 
river  was  being  covered  with  ice  and  snow. 

Caleb  D.  Dorr  and  John  McDonald  had  been  sent  up  to 
Swan  river,  after  I  left  on  the  exploring  trip,  to  get  out  a  few 
pieces  of  large  timber  that  I  could  not  get  on  Rum  river;  and 
they  had  run  this  timber  down  the  Mississippi  and  landed  their 
raft,  and  were  camping  with  my  crew  the  night  when  the 


334  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

boom  gave  way.  That  same  evening  Mr.  Dorr  and  myself  had 
talked  over  the  business,  as  both  were  engaged  by  the  same 
party,  and  we  were  congratulating  each  other  on  having  done 
more  than  was  expected  of  us.  The  following  morning  all  our 
bright  prospects  had  been  swept  down  the  river.  On  account 
of  this  disaster  I  must  go  back  and  take  a  new  start,  if  the 
new  improvements  were  to  go  forward.  There  was  no  means 
of  transportation,  except  that  which  nature  had  given  us,  so 
we  made  the  journey  to>  St.  Anthony  on  foot. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  falls,  I  entered  the  mess  house  which 
had  been  built  for  the  men  who  were  to  work  on  the  dam  and 
mill,  and  Mr.  Dorr  introduced  me  to  Ard  Godfrey,  the  mill- 
wright. It  was  evening,  and  after  eating  I  asked  for  a  place 
to  sleep;  and  when  I  said  good  night  to  Mr.  Godfrey,  I  asked 
to  see  him  before  I  should  go  to  the  fort  in  the  morning  to 
meet  Mr.  Steele.  I  was  up  early  and  found  Mr.  Godfrey  ready. 
I  asked  whether  there  was  a  boat  to  convey  us  to  the  island. 
The  boat  was  there,  and  very  soon  we  landed  on  the  island, 
since  named  for  Hennepin,  which  divides  the  falls  into  two 
parts.  I  was  anxious,  on  account  of  the  loss  of  our  logs,  and 
said:  "Mr.  Godfrey,  why  not  cut  the  hardwood  timber  here 
for  the  dam?  I  have  built  several  dams  in  Maine  out  of 
poorer  timber  than  this.  It  will  cost  less,  and  will  make  a 
better  job.  The  plank  can  be  had  at  St.  Croix  Falls  to  make 
it  tight,  and  the  dam  can  be  built  this  winter.  Should  you 
wait  for  pine  timber,  it  will  delay  the  improvements  one  year 
longer.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  dam  ought  to  be  built  just 
above  the  cataract,  and  be  no  more  than  five  feet  high,  so  that 
the  waste  water  will  go  over  it."  This  idea  of  putting  the 
dam  at  the  head  of  the  waterfall  was  new  to  him,  and  he 
said  that  he  would  not  build  the  mill  if  my  plan  was  decided 
on,  but  that  he  could  use  the  trees  on  the  island  for  the  dam. 

I  found  Mr.  Steele  getting  ready  to  visit  the  falls,  and  told 
him  what  had  happened,  and  that  no  one  was  to  blame  for 
what  the  elements  had  done.  Mr.  Steele  said  he  saw  the  tim- 
ber floating  past  the  fort  and  knew  that  all  was  gone,  and 
that  the  improvements  would  have  to  be  delayed  at  least  one 
year,  besides  a  loss  of  two  thousand  dollars,  and  the  expense 
of  paying  the  millwright  while  waiting  unemployed.  But  I 
said  to  him:    "Why  delay  building  the  dam  and  order  hewed 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  335 

pine  for  its  construction,  when  trees  enough  to  build  two  such 
dams  are  within  a  stone's  throw  and  will  cost  only  the  work 
of  cutting  them  ?"  It  was  on  government  land,  and  the  round 
hardwood  timber  was  equally  as  good  as  the  hewed  pine.  Mr. 
Steele  remarked  that  the  plans  of  the  dam  and  mill  were  fixed 
by  the  millwright.  The  construction  of  the  dam  was  changed 
from  square  to  round  timber,  and  the  trees  for  this  use  were 
cut  on  Hennepin  island. 

FIRST   LOGGING   NEAR   THE   CROW   WING   RIVER. 

It  was  needful  next  to  provide  the  pine  logs  for  the  first 
year's  sawing.  They  could  not  be  taken  out  of  Rum  river 
until  the  stream  was  cleared  of  its  driftwood.  It  was  evi- 
dently better  to  go  up  the  Mississippi  river;  and  for  advice 
in  this  undertaking  Mr.  Steele  and  I  went  to  St.  Paul  to  see 
Mr.  Henry  M.  Rice.  We  found  Mr.  Rice  preparing  to  send 
goods  to  his  trading  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Crow  Wing 
river.  He  said  that  he  could  buy  the  pine  of  Hole-in-the-Day, 
and  would  assist  us  all  he  could.  The  chief,  he  said,  was  a 
young  man  of  twenty  years  and  poor,  and  that  a  few  presents 
would  satisfy  him. 

We  decided,  after  the  interview,  to  log  somewhere  up  the 
Mississippi,  but  no  one  knew  where  the  pine  was  located. 
This  I  had  to  find,  and  then  to  make  the  best  bargain  I  could 
with  the  chief  for  the  standing  pine. 

The  whole  outfit  for  logging  had  to  come  from  St.  Croix 
Falls  or  Stillwater.  With  the  best  arrangements  that  could 
be  made,  it  would  be  December  before  the  logging  party  could 
start,  and  then  we  must  travel  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  with  oxen,  for  horses  could  not  be  obtained.  The  road 
through  the  timber  must  be  cut,  and  supplies  for  the  men  and 
teams  must  be  taken  along,  as  the  roads  could  not  be  kept 
open  during  the  winter  for  that  long  distance.  All  must  be 
ready  to  start  in  less  than  three  weeks.  Everything  had  to 
be  hunted  up  and  got  together,  as  the  teams,  sleds,  etc.  I 
proposed  that,  before  going  back,  we  should  look  for  teams, 
the  most  essential  part  of  our  logging  outfit.  Mr.  Steele  hired 
a  conveyance,  and  we  started  on  the  road  to  Stillwater.  All 
the  farms  were  in  the  area  extending  from  St.  Paul  and  Still- 
water  south  to  Point  Douglas.  Within  two  days  we  visited 
them,  and  had  secured  all  the  teams  needed  for  logging,  a 


336  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

few  sleds  for  the  supplies,  and  several  men.  In  less  than  two 
weeks  we  had  the  outfit  completed  for  the  winter's  work  of 
lumbering. 

It  was  the  first  of  December  when  we  started,  and  snow 
was  on  the  ground.  The  procession  consisted  of  teams  of  two 
or  four  oxen,  and  horses,  mules,  and  ponies,  with  supplies  to 
feed  the  men  and  teams  until  spring.  Our  intention  was  to 
stop  at  night  wherever  we  could  find  water  for  our  teams. 
About  ten  days  after  we  left  St.  Anthony  falls,  we  made  a 
temporary  camp  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nokasippi  river,  opposite 
to  where  Fort  Ripley  was  afterward  built. 

I  left  the  teams  and  men  at  this  camp  and  went  forward 
on  a  pony  to  the  Crow  Wing  river,  where  Mr.  Rice  had  his 
trading  post.  I  found  him  there,  and  he  told  me  that  I  could 
make  a  bargain  with  the  chief,  to  whom  he  had  spoken  about 
cutting  pine  logs  on  his  land,  but  that  he  had  not  ascertained 
where  they  should  be  cut  or  at  what  price. 

I  also  sought  an  interview  with  Mr.  Allan  Morrison,  who 
had  lived  at  Crow  Wing  as  a  trader  many  years.  His  wife 
was  a  half-breed  Ojibway,  and  he  was  Hole-in-the-Day's  ad- 
viser. Mr.  Steele,  being  acquainted  with  Mr.  Morrison,  had 
given  me  a  letter  to  him  when  I  started.  He  looked  the  letter 
over,  and  then  said,  "You  can  take  your  meals  with  us,  and  I 
will  do  what  I  can  with  the  chief,  to  help  Mr.  Steele."  I  told 
him  that  my  teams,  with  thirty  men,  would  be  there  the  next 
day,  and  that  I  desired  to  have  a  talk  with  the  chief  at  once, 
because  I  had  to  locate  the  logging  party  after  finding  where 
the  timber  was. 

Mr.  Morrison  sent  for  Hole-in-the-Day,  and  it  was  decided 
that  the  talk  should  take  place  at  Mr.  Rice's  store  the  next 
morning.  Mr.  Morrison  spoke  of  presents.  I  had  not  pro- 
vided any,  but  told  him  that  he  could  offer  a  pony  and  some 
blankets,  to  be  given  when  I  was  located,  if  the  price  for  the 
pine  was  reasonable. 

The  chief  came  the  next  morning,  and  Mr.  Morrison  was 
the  interpreter.  I  told  him  that  the  great  Ogema  at  the  falls 
of  St.  Anthony  wanted  to  buy  some  pine  trees  to  build  a  mill 
and  to  make  improvements,  and  that  I  had  come  a  long  dis- 
tance to  see  him  about  it.  He  said  he  had  vast  pine  woods 
farther  up  toward  Leech  lake.     I  inquired  whether  he  would 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  ggj 

sell  me  the  pine  close  west  of  the  Mississippi  about  four  miles 
below  Crow  Wing  river,  and  asked  the  price  per  tree  for  what 
I  could  cut  and  haul.  Mr.  Morrison  and  the  chief  had  a  talk 
together,  and  then  the  chief  said  that  he  wanted  five  pairs  of 
blankets,  some  calico,  and  broadcloth;  that  the  price  of  the 
pine  trees  would  be  fifty  cents  for  each  tree  hauled  to  the  river; 
and  that  he  wished  the  additional  present  of  a  pony  the  next 
spring.  This  seemed  an  exorbitant  price,  but  I  told  him  that 
when  I  found  the  pine  and  saw  how  large  the  trees  were,  I 
would  give  him  an  answer,  and  that  I  wanted  the  privilege  of 
exploring  without  being  molested.  This  was  agreed  upon, 
and  we  parted  to  meet  again  at  the  end  of  a  week. 

Examining  the  pine  timber  below  the  mouth  of  the  tJrow 
Wing  river,  and  finding  a  plenty  for  the  winter's  hauling 
within  one  mile  from  the  Mississippi,  I  selected  a  place  to 
build  the  camp,  and  then  went  to  get  the  teams  and  men  and 
to  set  them  at  work  building  the  camp  and  stables.  The  next 
day  we  all  were  on  the  ground  and  began  the  work  for  our 
winter's  logging. 

Then  I  returned  to  Crow  Wing  to  close  the  bargain  for 
the  timber.  I  met  Mr.  Bice  and  Mr.  Morrison  and  told  them 
that  the  timber  was  small  and  not  very  good,  and  that  fifty 
cents  a  tree  was  all  I  could  pay  for  the  privilege  of  removing 
it.  I  would  let  Hole-in-the-Day  have  what  he  wanted  for  pres- 
ents, but  the  amount  they  cost  me  should  be  deducted  from 
what  was  due  to  him  in  the  spring.  I  would  advance  the 
goods,  and  he  could  get  them  from  Mr.  Rice  when  he  wanted 
them.  The  chief's  father,  the  older  Hole-in-the-Day,  had  been 
killed  less  than  a  year  before,  and  all  the  old  chief  left  had 
been  used  in  lamentation.  About  five  hundred  Indians  were 
camping  on  the  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  Crow  Wing  river, 
and  they  had  but  little  to  eat  or  to  wear.  Morrison  sent  for 
the  chief,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  my  proposition  was  ac- 
cepted. Some  provisions  of  food  were  added  to  what  was  to 
be  advanced  in  payment.  It  was  agreed  that  Mr.  Morrison 
should  draw  up  the  writings  for  the  chief  of  the  Ojibway  na- 
tion, who  therein  guaranteed  that  none  of  his  people  should 
camp  within  one  mile  of  our  camp,  or  should  commit  any  dep- 
redations or  prevent  in  any  way  my  removing  the  pine  from 
the  land. 

22 


338  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

After  the  papers  were  signed,  I  returned  to  my  camp,  well 
pleased  with  what  I  had  accomplished.  I  sent  the  supply 
teams  home,  and  wrote  to  Mr.  Steele  what  I  had  done.  The 
camp  went  up  with  a  rush,  and  in  ten  days  the  teams  were 
hauling  logs.  We  had  a  good  winter  for  the  business  and  put 
in  one  and  a  half  million  feet  of  logs,  besides  timber  for  a  mile 
and  a  half  of  boom. 

We  had  very  little  trouble  with  the  Indians  during  the  win- 
ter. On  one  occasion  an  Indian  put  up  his  tepee  in  the  night 
within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  camp.  The  next  morning,  when 
the  teamster  was  hitching  up  his  team,  the  Indian  said,  "If 
you  don't  give  me  some  meat,  I  will  kill  an  ox  and  get  some/' 
I  told  young  Bottineau,  who  was  interpreter,  to  command  him 
to  leave,  and  to  threaten,  if  he  refused,  that  we  would  have 
his  scalp.  Bottineau  took  the  cook's  poker  and  struck  him 
just  as  he  was  about  to  fire.  He  knocked  the  Indian  down, 
and  the  gun  flew  out  of  his  hands.  The  squaw  came  to  his 
rescue,  but  the  whole  crew  by  this  time  were  out  of  the  camp 
and  ready  to  take  a  part  in  the  row.  I  requested  Bottineau 
to  hold  the  Indian,  but  not  to  hurt  him,  and  to  tell  the  squaw 
to  pack  up  and  leave  at  once.  She  left  with  her  papoose  in 
double  quick  time.  I  reported  the  Indian's  conduct  to  the 
chief,  and  we  had  no  more  trouble. 

Near  the  end  of  the  winter,  some  braves,  numbering  about 
twenty,  had  been  out  on  the  warpath  for  the  purpose  of  pun- 
ishing the  Sioux.  They  had  killed  an  old  squaw,  and  returned 
with  her  scalp.  They  came  into  our  camp  about  midnight, 
and  commenced  dancing  around  the  camp-fire.  The  crew, 
awakened  by  their  howling  noise,  were  alarmed,  and  each  se- 
cured some  weapon  to  defend  himself.  When  the  Indians  saw 
that  we  were  all  armed,  they  stopped  their  racket.  Bottineau 
asked  them  what  they  wanted.  They  said  that  they  were  hun- 
gry, and  he  told  them  to  sit  down  and  the  cook  would  feed 
them.  After  eating,  they  left  for  Crow  Wing,  without  making 
any  further  disturbance.  We  had  no  other  difficulties  with 
the  Indians  during  the  winter. 

EXPLORATION   OF   THE   UPPER   STREAMS   AND   LAKES. 

Late  in  February,  Mr.  Rice  had  arranged  to  visit  his  trad- 
ing posts  on  Leech  lake  and  other  lakes  at  the  sources  of  the 
Mississippi.    I  wished  to  finish  my  explorations  before  March, 


.LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  33Q 

and  therefore  I  arranged  to  accompany  him.  I  had  received 
very  important  information  from  Mr.  Morrison,  who  knew  the 
lakes  and  rivers,  and  had  seen  the  pine  growing  upon  their 
shores.  But  I  wanted  to  explore  the  country  myself,  and  to 
estimate  its  amount  of  pine  timber.  We  started  on  snow- 
shoes,  and  had  two  packers  to  carry  the  supplies  and  the  lug- 
gage for  camping.  I  found  pine  in  abundance  on  the  trail, 
and  at  every  trading  post  gathered  all  the  information  the 
traders  could  give  me.  I  took  notes  of  the  location  of  pine 
woods  on  the  lakes  and  on  the  main  river  and  its  tributaries. 

All  this  information  led  me  to  believe,  and  to  report  to 
Caleb  Gushing,  that  the  pine  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi would  last  for  several  generations  to  come.  As  more 
than  fifty  years  have  since  passed,  this  prediction  is  being 
proved  true. 

The  exploration  that  I  had  engaged  to  do  for  Steele  and 
Gushing  was  thus  completed  shortly  before  the  end  of  our  work 
of  cutting  logs.  On  the  first  of  March  I  broke  camp,  and  with 
part  of  the  crew  started  for  St.  Anthony,  leaving  the  remain- 
der of  the  crew  to  prepare  for  the  drive. 

GROWTH  OF  THE  TOWN  OP  ST.  ANTHONY. 

I  found  that  the  dam  at  St.  Anthony  falls  was  finished, 
with  the  exception  of  planking.  Mr.  Godfrey  had  pushed  the 
work,  intending  to  have  the  dam  closed  in  before  the  rise  of 
the  water  from  the  snow  melting  in  the  spring.  There  were 
other  improvements  and  many  newcomers. 

Proceeding  to  Port  Snelling,  I  found  Mr.  Steele  severely 
ill  at  this  time  of  my  return,  early  in  March,  1848;  and  in 
business  for  him  and  myself  I  went  onward  to  Dubuque  and 
Galena.  For  Mr.  Steele  I  visited  Galena  bankers,  previously 
known  to  me,  by  whom  he  received  two  remittances  of  f  5,000 
each  from  Gushing  and  Company,  their  investment  for  lum- 
ber manufacturing  at  St.  Anthony. 

When  I  came  back,  early  in  June,  many  other  newcomers 
had  arrived  in  St.  Anthony,  with  their  families,  to  make  this 
place  their  home.  New  houses  were  being  built  on  the  corner 
lots,  and  the  town  had  put  on  a  domestic  appearance.  Sum- 
ner W.  Farnham  was  making  arrangements  for  his  people,  who 
arrived  that  fall.  There  was  a  continued  and  large  immigra- 
tion until  winter. 


340  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Among  the  immigrants  were  Luther  Patch  and  his  fam- 
ily. His  eldest  daughter,  Marian,  was  married  to  Roswell  P. 
Russell,  October  3d,  1848.  This  was  the  first  wedding  in  St. 
Anthony,  and  I  had  the  honor  of  being  present.  They  had 
done  considerable  fishing  on  a  large  rock  below  the  falls,  which 
was  a  very  romantic  place  to  talk  over  matters  in  which  the 
two  were  most  interested.  The  decision  they  made  that  au- 
tumn was  for  a  life  together,  which  has  proven  one  of  peace 
and  happiness.  They  and  their  children  have  been  a  blessing 
to  all  with  whom  they  have  been  associated. 

The  first  sawmill  that  the  company  built  began  to  saw 
lumber  September  1st,  1848,  just  one  year  from  the  time  when 
the  exploring  party  in  the  little  canoe  started  up  the  Missis- 
sippi to  estimate  its  supply  of  pine.  Following  that  explora- 
tion, the  town  was  surveyed  and  lots  were  placed  on  sale.  The 
real  estate  office  and  the  lumber  office  were  together.  Later 
in  the  autumn  a  gang  sawmill  and  two  shingle  mills  were  to 
be  erected,  to  be  ready  for  business  in  the  spring  of  1849. 

Sumner  W.  Farnham  ran  the  first  sawmill  during  that 
autumn,  until  he  took  charge  of  one  of  my  logging  parties  in 
the  winter.  As  soon  as  the  mill  started,  it  was  run  night  and 
day  in  order  to  supply  enough  lumber  for  the  houses  of  im- 
migrants, who  were  pouring  in  from  the  whole  country.  There 
was  life  put  into  every  enterprise.  The  houses  had  to  be 
built  of  green  lumber;  and  all  merchandise  came  from  St. 
Paul,  or  from  the  store  of  Franklin  Steele  at  the  fort.  Dry 
lumber  was  hauled  from  Stillwater  to  finish  the  buildings. 
Both  common  and  skilled  laborers  were  scarce,  as  the  mill 
company  employed  all  they  could  possibly  work  on  their  im- 
provements, Before  Governor  Ramsey  proclaimed  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  June  1st,  1849,  a  busy 
town  had  grown  up,  called  St.  Anthony,  built  mostly  by  New 
England  immigrants,  and  presenting  the  appearance  of  a  thriv- 
ing New  England  village. 

When  river  navigation  opened  in  1849,  on  the  first  boats, 
immigration  came  in  small  armies.  Every  boat  was  full  of 
passengers.  The  sawmills  were  all  running  to  supply  lumber 
to  build  houses  for  the  newcomers,  and  this  was  continued 
through  all  the  year,  as  long  as  navigation  lasted.  About 
half  of  the  immigrants  stopped  at  St.  Paul.  Both  towns 
doubled  in  houses  and  families. 


SUMNER  W.  FARNHAM. 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 

Vol.  IX.    Plate  IX. 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  341 

In  the  same  year,  1849,  I  built  a  store  at  St.  Anthony,  and 
put  in  a  general  stock  of  goods;  and  Anson  Northup  com- 
menced to  build  the  St.  Charles  hotel,  which  he  finished  the 
next  year.  In  1848  he  had  built  the  American  House  In  St. 
Paul.  He  was  one  of  the  most  enterprising  and  generous  men 
that  I  ever  knewT,  always  accommodating  and  hospitable.  He 
built  the  first  hotels  for  transient  people  both,  in  St.  Paul  and 
St.  Anthony.  It  took  money  to  make  these  improvements, 
and  he  always  had  the  money  or  knew  where  he  could  procure 
it  to  carry  on  the  work. 

OUTFITS  FOR  LUMBERING  REPAID  BY  LOGS. 

The  firm  of  Borup  and  Oakes,  in  St.  Paul,  furnished  sup- 
plies to  many  of  the  early  lumbermen,  and  took  logs  in  pay- 
ment. In  1856  they  ran  many  rafts  of  logs  to  St.  Louis.  As 
surveyor  general  that  year,  I  scaled  over  six  million  feet  of 
logs  for  them.  Their  store  in  St.  Paul  was  a  branch  of  tlie 
immense  business  of  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  and  Co.,  of  St.  Louis. 

John  S.  Prince,  of  St.  Paul,  also  supplied  outfits  for  lum- 
bering, and  in  payment  received  logs  for  sawing  in  his  mill, 
which  was  situated  just  below  the  steamboat  landing.  He 
was  the  first  to  manufacture  lumber  in  St.  Paul. 

Merchants  of  that  city  sold  supplies  to  logging  companies; 
but  scarcely  any  St.  Paul  men  engaged  in  lumbering  in  the 
woods,  and  only  a  few  wrere  lumber  manufacturers.  Most  of 
the  lumber  used  for  buildings  in  St.  Paul  came  from  the  St. 
Anthony  mill  company. 

Nearly  all  the  money  that  came  into  the  country  consisted 
of  government  annuities  paid  to  the  Indians.  It  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  Indian  traders,  who  had  it  all  promised  be- 
fore the  government  made  the  payment.  My  store,  built  and 
stocked  with  goods  in  1849,  was  the  largest  then  in  St.  An- 
thony, and  I  had  no  Indian  trade  to  pay  for  the  goods  sold.  I 
had  to  take  logs  as  payment  and  ran  them  to  the  lower  mar- 
kets, as  did  Borup  and  Oakes,  to  get  money  to  purchase  goods. 
It  required  one  year  to  get  cash  returns  for  goods  after  they 
were  delivered,  and  sometimes  two  years. 

LUMBERING  ON  THE  RUM  RIVER  AND  ITS  WEST  BRANCH. 

Having  made  a  contract  with  dishing  and  Steele,  in  the 

autumn  of  1848,  to  stock  all  their  mills  with  logs  for  two  years, 


342  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

I  went  up  Bum  river  to  explore  tiie  second  time.  On  a  trib- 
utary which  enters  this  river  from  the  northeast  about  four 
miles  north  of  the  present  town  of  Cambridge,  I  found  a  small 
lake  and  good  white  pine  on  every  side.  This  was  afterward 
called  Lowrer  Stanchfield  brook.  I  logged  there  two  years, 
which  was  the  first  lumbering  upon  a  large  scale  on  Bum  river. 

A  part  of  the  lumber  for  building  Fort  Sneiling,  however, 
had  been  cut  on  the  same  lake;  for  we  found  on  its  shore  the 
remains  of  an  old  logging  camp  that  had  been  there  many 
years.  In  its  vicinity  pine  trees  had  been  cut  and  taken  away, 
and  the  stumps  had  partially  decayed.  Logging  had  also  been 
done  at  the  same  early  date  in  the  Dutchman's  grove,  where 
my  party  in  the  autumn  of  1847  got  the  logs  designed  for 
building  the  St.  Anthony  dam.  This  grove  was  on  the  south- 
west side  of  the  river,  about  midway  between  the  LowTer  and 
Upper  Stanchfield  brooks,  which  come  from  the  opposite  side. 

I  built  two  camps  for  the  winter  of  1848,  and  then  returned 
to  St.  Anthony  to  hire  men  and  to  secure  teams  and  supplies. 
Sumner  W.  Farnham  was  the  foreman  of  one  camp,  as  pre- 
viously noted;  and  one  of  my  brothers,  Samuel  Stanchfield, 
was  foreman  for  the  other.  The  two  camps  put  in  two  and 
a  half  million  feet  of  logs  that  winter.  Some  of  the  men  in 
camp  were  from  Maine,  including  Sumner  W.  and  Silas  M. 
Farnham,  Charles  W.  Stimpson,  and  others  whose  names  I 
have  forgotten.  My  brother  Samuel  was  in  later  years  one  of 
the  prominent  lumbermen  of  St  Anthony,  having  in  1856  pur- 
chased my  store  and  logging  business. 

In  1849  I  put  in  the  logs  of  my  contract  for  the  mill  com- 
pany mostly  on  the  Upper  Stanchfield  brook.  Joseph  B. 
Brown  put  in  logs  on  the  same  stream,  over  one  million  feet. 
The  two  drives  in  the  spring  of  1850  went  down  the  river  to- 
gether. 

During  the  year  1850,  the  jams  and  rafts  of  driftwood  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  course  of  Bum  river  were  cleared  out  by 
S.  W.  Farnham  and  G.  W.  Stimpson,  making  the  river  nav- 
igable for  logs  from  its  source.  The  West  branch  was  cleared 
afterward,  within  the  same  year. 

Logs  were  cut  on  both  branches  and  on  their  tributaries 
in  1850,  and  over  six  million  feet  were  driven  to  St.  Anthony, 
and  were  there  sawed  by  the  mill  company.     Other  logs  went 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  <z>±Q 

below  to  the  St.  Paul  boom,  for  markets  farther  down  the 
river.  The  St.  Anthony  mills  had  two  gangs  and  three  single 
saws  running  this  year,  besides  two  shingle  mills.  The  earli- 
est settlement  of  the  part  of  Minneapolis  that  first  bore  this 
name,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  was  in  this  year  1850. 

During  the  next  winter  I  cut  about  two  million  feet  of  logs. 
There  were  eight  parties,  under  different  proprietors,  engaged 
in  lumbering  on  the  upper  Mississippi  that  winter;  and  alto- 
gether about  8,800,000  feet  of  logs  were  driven  the  next  spring 
to  St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis.  These  logs  were  manufac- 
tured by  the  mill  company,  and  the  lumber  was  mostly  sold 
in  these  rival  towns  and  in  St.  Paul  for  building.  The  im- 
migration in  1851  was  nearly  twice  as  large  as  the  year  before. 

In  the  winter  of  1851-52  my  lumbering  parties  cut,  for 
driving  the  next  spring,  three  million  feet  of  logs;  and  the 
total  product  of  logs  that  season  from  the  Rum  river  pineries, 
driven  to  St.  Anthony  by  all  the  lumbermen,  was  over  eleven 
millions.  A  part  of  this  amount  went  over  the  falls  and  was 
rafted  at  the  St.  Paul  boom,  going  to  the  lower  markets. 

In  1853  the  logs  driven  from  Rum  river  and  its  West 
branch  amounted  to  over  23,000,000  feet.  In  1854  the  product 
was  nearly  33,000,000  feet;  and  the  next  year  it  exceeded 
thirty-six  million.  More  than  half  the  logs  cut  in  the  winter 
of  1855-'56  went  over  the  St.  Anthony  falls,  on  account  of  the 
breaking  of  the  boom  above  the  falls  in  the  spring  of  1856. 
The  logs  were  scattered  down  the  river,  some  going  into  the 
"Cave  boom"  above  St.  Paul,  some  into  "Pig's  Eye  slough," 
and  others  into  the  head  of  Lake  Pepin.  About  twenty  mil- 
lion feet  of  these  runaway  logs  were  collected,  rafted,  and 
Bold  in  the  southern  markets. 

In  1856,  I  was  appointed  surveyor  general  of  logs  for  the 
second  district,  comprising  Minneapolis  and  the  upper  Mis- 
sissippi; and  under  the  law  I  was  forbidden  to  cut  or  manu- 
facture lumber  during  my  term  of  office.  From  1856  to  1859, 
there  were  many  improvements  in  lumber  manufacturing,  and 
more  mills  were  added  to  those  previously  running.  There 
was  a  steady  increase  in  the  yearly  cut  and  drive  of  logs  until 
1857,  when  they  exceeded  forty-four  million  feet.  Up  to  that 
date,  nearly  all  the  logging  was  on  the  Rum  river  and  its 
tributaries. 


344  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

RELATION  OF  LUMBERING  TO  AGRICULTURAL  SETTLEMENT. 

A  later  part  of  this  paper  gives  the  statistics  of  the  logs 
cut  in  all  the  region  drained  by  the  Mississippi  above  Minne- 
apolis, for  each  year  from  1848  to  1899,  yielding  aggregate 
wealth  of  seventy-five  million  dollars.  The  gold  received  for 
the  manufactured  lumber  contributed  in  a  very  large  degree 
to  the  agricultural  and  commercial  development  of  Minnesota 
and  the  two  Dakotas.  The  farmers,  who  had  at  first  sup- 
plied only  the  lumbermen  with  grain  and  flour,  soon  found, 
by  steamboats  and  railways,  more  distant  markets  for  their 
surplus  grain,  which  made  their  farming  profitable.  This 
brought  a  great  agricultural  immigration.  Its  first  start  was 
mainly  on  account  of  needs  of  the  lumbermen  for  provisions 
to  feed  their  teams  and  themselves  in  the  pine  woods,  in  log 
driving,  and  in  lumber  manufacturing. 

The  first  great  gold  mine  of  the  Northwest  was  its  pine 
timber,  which  was  taken  from  the  red  man  almost  without 
compensation.  From  the  upper  Mississippi  region,  above  the 
falls  of  St.  Anthony,  it  has  yielded  twelve  billion  feet  of  lum- 
ber, having  a  value,  at  the  places  where  it  was  sawn,  of  not 
less  than  $75,000,000.  This  great  lumber  industry,  more  than 
all  our  other  resources,  built  up  the  cities  and  towns  on  the 
upper  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  at  these  falls  and  north- 
ward. 

INCIDENTS  DURING  EXPLORATION  AND  LOGGING. 

Two  or  three  incidents  may  be  related  to  show  some  of 
the  dangers  and  hardships  of  pioneer  exploration  and  lum- 
bering fifty  years  ago.  In  an  exploring  trip  on  the  Rum  river, 
I  had  spent  three  weeks  alone,  running  lines  and  estimating 
timber  for  entries  at  the  government  land  office.  When  re- 
turning, at  a  point  near  the  Mississippi  above  Anoka,  I  was 
surrounded  by  a  band  of  Ojibways,  led  by  Hole-in-the-Day. 
The  first  I  saw  of  them,  they  were  in  a  curved  line,  like  the 
shape  of  a  new  moon,  running  toward  me.  In  a  minute  I  was 
surrounded  by  more  than  a  hundred  threatening  redskins  with 
their  faces  painted  for  war.  But  as  soon  as  Hole-in-the-Day 
made  himself  known,  I  had  no  fear  of  them,  because  I  had  had 
friendly  business  relations  with  him,  as  before  narrated.  We 
shook  hands,  and  I  opened  my  pack,  which  had  very  little 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  345 

in  it.  The  chief  said  that  he  was  on  the  hunt  for  Sioux,  but 
had  seen  none.  We  parted  as  friends;  he  went  for  game,  and 
I  continued  on  my  journey  home. 

At  another  time,  I  was  again  returning  home  from  ex- 
ploring alone,  and  it  had  been  raining  all  day.  When  it  began 
to  grow  dark,  I  looked  for  my  matches  to  build  a  fire,  and 
found  them  so  damp  that  they  would  not  light.  Wolves  were 
howling  in  the  distance,  and  I  knew  that  something  must  be 
done  before  long,  as  they  seemed  to  be  coming  nearer  all  the 
time.  I  looked  around  for  a  tall  tree,  and,  finding  one  that 
I  thought  would  serve,  I  took  my  pack  and  ax  and  climbed 
up  nearly  to  its  top.  The  wolves  soon  began  to  come  around 
the  foot  of  the  tree.  It  had  grown  colder,  and  the  rain  froze 
to  form  ice  on  the  limbs,  making  them  very  slippery.  I  ar- 
ranged the  limbs  so  that  I  could  sit  as  comfortable  as  pos- 
sible under  the  circumstances,  and  wrapped  my  blankets 
around  me,  which  gave  some  protection  from  the  cold.  The 
wolves  howled  and  fought  with  each  other  around  the  foot 
of  the  tree  all  night;  but  I  felt  safe,  knowing  that  the  tree 
was  so  large  they  could  not  gnaw  it  with  their  teeth.  At  the 
approach  of  morning  they  scattered,  and  as  soon  as  it  was 
light  I  climbed  down  and  started  on  again  toward  St.  An- 
thony. 

In  the  winter  of  1850,  one  of  my  lumber  camps  was  burned, 
together  with  my  supplies,  and  I  had  to  hasten  to  St.  Anthony 
and  the  fort  for  more  supplies.  During  my  return  to  the 
camp,  walking  forward  alone  in  advance  of  the  team,  I  was 
met  in  the  thick  brush  by  a  pack  of  wolves.  The  road  was 
narrow  and  crooked,  and  they  filled  it  completely.  I  yelled 
at  them  and  lifted  my  ax  high  in  the  air,  going  toward  them. 
They  began  to  scatter  into  the  brush,  and  soon  left  plenty  of 
room  for  me  to  pass  between  them  unmolested;  and  they 
looked  at  me  until  a  turn  m  the  road  screened  me  from  their 
view.  Had  I  taken  the  opposite  direction  and  turned  to  es- 
cape, they  would  probably  have  made  a  meal  of  me  before 
the  team  would  have  reached  me,  as  it  was  a  mile  back.  I 
hurried  forward  at  a  double  quick  pace  until  I  reached  the 
river,  a  mile  ahead,  where  we  camped  for  the  night.  The 
wolves  howled  around  us  all  night,  but  were  shy  of  the  fire 
and  the  teams. 


346  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

CHANGES  IN  THIS  INDUSTRY   SINCE    FIFTY   YEARS    AGO. 

My  apprenticeship  for  lumbering  was  in  my  native  state, 
Maine,  during  the  years  1837  to  1344.  Most  of  our  Minnesota 
lumbermen,  and  many  settlers  in  our  pine  region,  came  from 
that  state,  and  are  therefore  often  called  "Mainites."  The 
methods  of  lumbering  in  the  Maine  woods  in  1830  to  1850  were 
transferred  to  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota. 

The  logging  party  built  their  camp  early  in  the  fall,  and 
then  cut  the  main  logging  roads,  which  had  to  be  straight, 
twelve  or  more  feet  wide,  smooth,  and  level.  Whole  trees, 
trimmed  of  their  branches,  were  hauled,  the  bark  being  re- 
moved from  the  under  side  so  that  it  would  slip  easily  on 
the  snow.  One  end  of  the  tree  trunk  was  loaded  on  a  bob- 
sled, the  other  part  being  dragged  along.  In  this  way  the 
tree  was  taken  to  the  landing  on  the  shore  of  the  lake  or 
river,  where  it  was  rolled  off  the  sled  and  the  sawyers  cut 
it  into  logs,  cutting  a  mark  of  ownership  on  the  side  of  each 
log.  The  logs  were  then  ready  for  the  drivers,  in  the  spring, 
to  roll  them  into  the  water. 

The  old  camp,  as  it  used  to  be  built  in  Maine  and  at  the 
beginning  of  lumbering  in  Minnesota,  was  simple  but  very 
handy.  Two  large  trees,  of  the  full  length  of  the  camp,  were 
procured  and  placed  about  twenty  feet  apart,  and  two  base 
logs  were  cut  for  the  ends.  Each  end  was  run  up  to  a  peak 
like  the  gable  of  a  house,  but  each  side  slanted  up  as  a  roof, 
from  the  long  base  tree  at  the  ground,  to  the  ridge-pole.  This 
roof,  constructed  with  level  stringers,  was  shingled.  A  chim- 
ney, measuring  about  four  by  six  feet,  formed  of  round  poles 
and  calked,  was  built  in  the  middle  of  the  roof,  and  the  fire 
was  directly  underneath  it  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  Sis: 
stones  were  arranged,  three  at  one  end  and  three  at  the 
other,  as  the  fire-place,  on  which  the  logs,  about  eight  feet 
long,  were  laid  and  burned.  Between  the  two  rows  of  stones 
a  hole  was  dug,  and  when  filled  with  live  coals  it  was  a  fine 
oven  for  cooking  meat  or  for  baking  beans  or  bread.  Benches 
of  hewn  planks  were  built  beside  the  fire,  and  thence  ex- 
tended the  entire  length  of  the  camp.  The  places  for  sleeping 
were  back  of  the  benches,  being  next  to  the  wall,  and  the  bed 
consisted  of  fir  boughs  laid  on  the  ground.  A  pole  fastened 
horizontally  in  the  chimney  served  as  a  crane  to  hang  the 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  347 

kettles  on  for  cooking.  A  cellar  was  dug  near  the  front  of 
the  camp;  and  a  table  was  made  at  the  rear  end,  opposite 
the  door.  This  describes  the  average  lumber  camp  of  the 
Minnesota  pineries  during  the  early  years,  from  1847  to  1860. 

The  modern  logging  outfit  is  different.  Two  bob-sleds  are 
placed  one  behind  the  other,  and  are  fastened  by  two  chains 
crossed  in  the  center.  With  a  tackle  and  fall,  logs  are  rolled 
up  and  loaded  on  these  sleds,  sometimes  to  the  height  of  ten 
feet.  Horses  or  oxen  are  used  on  the  tackle,  and  a  load  takes 
from  four  to  ten  thousand  feet  of  logs. 

It  is  made  possible  to  draw  these  very  heavy  loads  by 
icing  the  ruts  of  the  logging  roads.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
logging  season,  and  occasionally  afterward,  whenever  snow- 
storms or  continued  wearing  make  it  needful,  water  tanks 
on  runners  are  drawn  along  the  roads,  supplying  a  small 
stream  at  each  side.  The  resulting  narrow  courses  of  ice  bear 
up  the  sleds  under  the  great  weight. 

The  manner  of  felling  the  trees  also  shows  an  important 
change  from  the  old  methods.  Instead  of  chopping  them 
down  with  axes,  as  was  formerly  done,  they  are  sawed  off  at 
the  stump. 

Temporary  lumbering  camps  of  the  present  time,  for  use 
during  one  or  two  winters,  are  warmly  built  log-houses  with 
perpendicular  sides,  well  supplied  with  windows,  and  are  in 
many  other  respects  better  than  when  I  began  logging  on 
the  Mississippi  and  Rum  rivers.  The  more  permanent  camps 
have  partitions  dividing  them  into  a  kitchen,  dining-room, 
and  sitting-room,  on  the  main  floor,  writh  bedrooms  upstairs. 
The  sitting-room  is  heated  by  a  large  stove,  and  the  kitchen 
has  the  best  and  largest  modern  cooking  range.  In  a  single 
camp  fifty  choppers  and  teamsters  may  be  comfortably  lodged. 
They  eat  breakfast  and  supper  at  the  camp,  going  to  their 
work,  often  two  miles  away,  before  light  in  the  short  days 
of  winter,  and  returning  after  dark.  They  are  provided  with 
abundant  and  well  prepared  food,  for  which  their  hard  manual 
labor  gives  a  keen  appetite. 

LUMBERMEN  OF  ST.  ANTHONY  AND  MINNEAPOLIS  PRIOR  TO  1860. 

The  pioneer  lumbermen  of  the  upper  Mississippi  region, 
who  were  engaged  in  our  great  logging  and  lumber  manu- 


348  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

facturing  industries  before  the  Civil  war,  are  named  in  the 
following  list,  with  dates  of  their  coming  to  St.  Anthony  or 
Minneapolis.  It  will  be  remembered  that  these  two  towns 
or  cities,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  were  not  united 
under  the  latter  name  until  the  year  1872.  The  dates  given  for 
firms  and  companies  indicate  the  year  of  beginning  of  their 
work  in  lumbering.  A  few  residents  of  St.  Paul,  as  Borup 
and  Oakes,  and  John  S.  Prince,  having  business  interests  in 
St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis,  are  also  included,  with  the 
earliest  years  of  accounts  of  their  logs  in  the  surveyor's  rec- 
ords. 

With  nearly  all  whose  names  appear  in  this  list,  I  was 
personally  acquainted.  Only  very  few  of  them  are  left  with 
me  to  the  present  time.  They  well  performed  their  work  as 
founders  of  Minnesota  and  of  its  largest  city. 

The  list  is  compiled  from  the  records  of  the  surveyor  gen- 
eraFs  office.  It  comprises  more  than  a  hundred  names  of 
individuals  and  firms.  They  are  arranged  in  the  chronologic 
order  of  their  coming  to  live  at  Minneapolis,  or,  in  connection 
with  firms  and  companies,  of  their  first  engaging  in  business 
here.  In  some  instances  a  residence  of  a  few  years  in  Min- 
neapolis preceded  the  appearance  of  the  name  in  the  surveyor's 
records.  Franklin  Steele  and  Roswell  P.  Russell  had  lived  a 
long  time  previously  within  the  limits  of  the  present  state 
of  Minnesota,  having  come  respectively  in  1837  and  1839  to 
Fort  Snelling. 

Each  proprietor  or  firm  used  a  special  mark  to  designate 
their  logs  for  separate  accounts  and  payments,  when  the  logs 
of  many  different  owners  were  mixed  together  in  the  booms 
and  drawn  out  for  sawing,  or  when  they  were  rafted  together 
for  sale  to  southern  manufacturers. 

1847. 

Caleb  D.  Dorr.  Franklin  Steele,  Caleb  Cushing,  and 

Ard  Godfrey.  Co. 

Roswell  P.  Russell.  Charles  W.  Stimpson. 

Daniel  Stanchfield.  Calvin  A.  Tuttle. 

1848. 

Joseph  R.  Brown.  John  Rollins. 

Silas  M.  Farnham.  Samuel  Stanchfield. 

Summer  W.  Farnham. 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI. 


349 


1849. 


Reuben  Bean. 
Rufus  Farnham. 
Isaac  Gilpatrick. 
John  Jackins. 
Isaac  E.  Lane. 
Silas  Lane. 


James  A.  Lennon. 
John  G.  Lennon. 
James  McMuIlen. 
John  W.  North. 
Anson  Northup. 
Joseph  P.  Wilson. 


1850. 


Joel   B.    Bassett. 
Henry  Chambers. 
Thomas  Chambers. 
Charles  Chute, 


Richard  Chute. 
Gordon  Jackins. 
William  Jackins. 


1851. 


John  Berry. 
Mark  T.  Berry. 
John  T.  Blaisdell. 
Robert  Blaisdell. 
George  A.  Camp. 
Dan  S.  Day. 


J.  W.  Day. 
Joseph  Day. 
Leonard  Day. 
Joseph  Libbey. 
Marshall  and  Co. 
Benjamin  Souie. 


William  Hanson. 

P.  G.  Mayo  and  Brothers. 

Frank  Rollins. 


Henry  T.  Welles. 


1852. 


Russell,  Gray  and  Co. 
Ensign  Stanchfield. 


1853. 


1854. 


A.  M.  Fridley. 
McKenzie  and  Estes. 
D.  W.  Marr. 


Stanchfield  and  Co. 
Ambrose  Tourtelotte. 


1855. 


F.  C.  Barrows. 
Borup  and  Oakes. 
Camp  and  Reynolds. 
Chapman  and  Co. 
John  Dudley. 
Farnham  and  Stimpson. 
Gray  and  Libbey. 
Jackson  and  Blaisdell. 
Jewett  and  Chase. 
James  A.  Lovejoy. 
Stephen  Lovejoy. 
Mcintosh  and  Estes. 


McKnight  and  King. 
John  Martin. 
Clinton  Morrison. 
Dorilus  Morrison. 
David  Nichols. 
John  S.  Pillsbury. 
Stanchfield  and  Brown. 
Daniel  Stimpson. 
Tourtelotte  and  Co. 
George  Warren  and  Co. 
Welles  and  Co. 


350 


MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 


1856. 


Ames,  Howell  and  Co. 
Ames  and  Hoyt. 
John  Banfil. 
Daniel  Bassett. 
Cathcart  and  Co. 
Josiah  H.  Chase. 
L.  P.  Chase. 
Robert  Christie. 
Farnham  and  Co. 
Gray  and  Leighton. 
John  G.  Howe. 
James  McCann. 


W.  H.  Chamberlain. 
William  W.  McNair. 


Jonathan  Chase. 
W.  E.  Jones. 


Richard  J.  Mendenhall. 
Morrison  and  Tourtelotte. 
Elias  Moses. 
W.  M.  Nesmith. 
Olmstead  and  Ames. 
John  S.  Prince. 
Rotary  Mill  Co. 
I.  Sanford. 

Stanchfield  and  McCormack. 
William  A.  Todd. 
Woodbury  and  Co. 
Ivory  F.  Woodman. 


1857. 


William  D.  Washburn. 
Wensinger  and  Co. 


1858  (none  added). 
1859. 


Orlando  C.  Merriman. 


Early  Lumber  Manufacturing  Above  Minneapolis, 


In  1860,  business  reverses  and  the  death  of  my  wife  and 
children  caused  me  to  remove  from  Minneapolis,  and  after  a 
year  of  travel  I  settled  in  Davenport,  Iowa.  There  I  again 
married  and  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade  until  1889,  when 
I  returned  to  Minneapolis,  to  spend  my  declining  years  in  the 
city  whose  first  growth  and  earliest  industries  sprang  from 
my  exploration  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  pineries.  It  is  not 
proposed,  therefore,  to  extend  this  history  beyond  the  year 
1860,  excepting  as  it  is  partly  given  in  biographic  sketches 
and  in  the  tables  of  statistics. 

Joseph  Libbey,  who  came  to  St.  Anthony  with  his  family 
early  in  1851,  was  the  first  to  cut  and  haul  logs  above  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Grow  Wing  and  Mississippi  rivers.  Several  years 
passed  before  any  other  lumberman  went  so  far  north,  the 
next  being  Asa  Libbey.  When  the  best  pineries  adjoining  the 
Bum  river  began  to  be  exhausted,  the  loggers  went  up  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  Pine  and  Gull  rivers  and  many  other  streams  form- 
ing Its  l^ead'waters,  which  I  had  partly  explored  in  February, 
1848,  predicting  that  the  timber  supply  in  that  region  would 
far  outlast  a  generation. 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  351 

Within  the  subsequent  period  of  more  than  fifty  years, 
logging  and  lumber  manufacturing  have  been  developed  be- 
yond any  extent  which  could  then  be  expected.  Railroads 
for  lumbering  have  been  built,  during  the  last  ten  years,  in  the 
large  district  reaching  north  from  Brainerd  to  Leech,  Cass, 
and  Bemidji  lakes,  and  also  northward  from  the  mouths  of 
Swan  and  Deer  rivers,  to  bring  the  timber  of  areas  many  miles 
distant  from  any  stream  capable  of  floating  and  driving  logs ; 
and,  in  some  instances,  after  the  country  has  been  stripped  of 
its  merchantable  pine,  the  rails  of  long  lines  and  branches 
have  been  taken  up  to  be  laid  again  for  the  same  use  in  other 
belts  of  pine  forest  on  and  near  the  principal  watersheds. 
Large  districts  have  yielded  all  or  nearly  all  their  available 
pine  timber;  but  some  extensive  tracts  of  this  most  valuable 
timber  yet  remain.  In  the  progress  of  railroad  logging,  prob- 
ably the  pine  supply  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  region  will  con- 
tinue many  years;  and  its  resources  of  excellent  hardwTood 
timber,  well  adapted  for  building,  furniture,  and  a  very  wide 
range  of  wood  manufacturing,  almost  wholly  neglected  to  the 
present  time,  seem  practically  inexhaustible. 

During  the  period  preceding  the  Civil  War,  lumber  manu- 
facturing was  begun,  on  a  small  scale,  in  Anoka,  Elk  River, 
St.  Cloud,  and  Little  Falls,  besides  numerous  smaller  towns 
and  settlements,  some  of  which,  as  Watab  and  Granite  City, 
existed  only  a  few  years. 

In  the  winter  of  1853-'54  the  first  dam  and  sawmill  at  An- 
oka were  built  by  Caleb  and  W.  H.  Woodbury.  In  1860  this 
water-power  and  sawmill  were  bought  by  James  McCann,  the 
mill  having  then  only  one  sash-saw,  with  a  capacity  of  6,000 
feet  of  lumber  daily. 

Other  early  sawmills  in  Anoka  county  included  one  built 
in  1854  by  Charles  Peltier  on  the  Clearwater  creek  near  Cen- 
terville,  which  was  operated  during  five  years;  a  large  steam 
sawmill  built  by  Starkey  and  Petteys  in  1857  at  their  village 
of  Columbus,  in  the  present  township  of  this  name,  but  this 
mill  was  burned  after  a  few  years  and  the  village  disappeared ; 
and  a  mill  at  St.  Francis,  built  in  1855  by  Dwight  Woodbury. 

In  Sherburne  county,  Ard  Godfrey  and  John  G.  Jameson 
built  the  first  dam  and  sawmill,  in  1851,  at  the  rapids  of  the 
Elk  river,  where  four  years  later  the  village  of  Orono  was  sur- 


352  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

veyed  and  platted,  now  forming  the  western  part  of  the  town 
of  Elk  River.  This  mill  had  only  a  single  sash-saw,  and  was 
capable  of  sawing  about  3,000  feet  daily. 

In  Princeton  a  steam  sawmill  was  built  in  1856  by  William 
F.  Dunham  and  others;  and  a  sawmill  run  by  water-power 
was  built  by  Samuel  Ross  in  1858.  Their  daily  capacity,  re- 
spectively, was  about  6,000  feet  and  3,000  feet. 

At  Monticello  two  large  steam  sawmills  were  built  in  1855 
and  1856,  each  having  a  daily  capacity  of  about  25,000  feet. 
The  first  was  operated  many  years,  but  the  second  was  burned 
in  1858,  and  was  never  rebuilt. 

At  Clearwater  a  dam  and  sawmill  were  built  in  1856,  but 
were  washed  away  by  a  flood  when  nearly  ready  to  begin  saw- 
ing. The  next  year  a  second  sawmill  on  the  Clearwater  river, 
a  mile  above  the  former,  was  built  by  Herman  Woodworth; 
and  in  1858  a  steam  sawmill  was  erected  by  Frank  Morrison 
on  or  near  the  site  of  the  first  mill.  Each  of  these  later  mills 
continued  in  operation  about  twenty  years. 

At  St.  Cloud,  one  of  the  earliest  enterprises  was  the  erec- 
tion of  a  steam  sawmill  in  1855  by  a  company  consisting  of  J. 
P.  Wilson,  George  F.  Brott,  H.  T.  Welles  and  C.  T.  Stearns.  It 
was  burned  and  was  rebuilt  the  next  year.  Its  site  was  that 
of  the  Bridgman  upper  mill.  In  1857,  Raymond  and  Owen 
erected  their  first  factory  for  making  doors,  sash,  and  blinds, 
which  was  carried  away  by  ice  in  1862,  but  was  rebuilt  the 
same  year. 

The  old  village  of  Watab,  which  was  platted  in  1854  and 
flourished  during  several  years  but  was  afterward  abandoned, 
situated  on  the  Mississippi  in  Benton  county,  about  four  miles 
north  of  Sauk  Rapids,  had  a  steam  sawmill,  which  was  built 
in  1856  by  Place,  Hanson,  and  Clark. 

In  Morrison  county,  the  first  sawrnill  was  built  at  Little 
Falls  by  James  Green,  in  1849,  and  was  operated  by  different 
owners  until  1858,  when  it  was  washed  away.  Extensive  out- 
lay was  made  by  the  Little  Falls  Manufacturing  Company, 
during  the  years  1856  to  1858,  in  building  a  dam  and  mills; 
but  they  were  destroyed  by  a  flood  in  the  summer  of  1860, 
Near  the  mouth  of  Swan  river,  on  the  west  side  of  Pike  rapids, 
Anson  Northup  built  a  steam  sawmill  in  1856,  and  operated 
it  two  years.    On  the  Skunk  river,  in  the  east  part  of  this 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  353 

county,  at  a  distance  of  nearly  twenty  miles  from  Little  Falls, 
a,  steam  sawmill  and  a  considerable  village,  called  Granite 
City,  were  built  in  1858  and  ensuing  years;  but  the  site  was 
abandoned  at  the  time  of  the  Indian  outbreak  in  1862,  and  was 
never  reoecupied. 

Northward  from  Morrison  county,  the  present  large  devel- 
opment of  lumber  manufacturing  at  Brainerd,  Aitkin,  and 
other  places  on  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad,  which  was  built 
through  this  region  in  1870  and  1871,  belongs  to  a  period  con- 
siderably later  than  that  which  is  the  theme  of  this  paper. 
More  recent  lines  of  railway,  in  several  instances  constructed 
chiefly  or  solely  for  their  use  in  lumbering,  with  numerous 
large  sawmills  and  a  vast  yearly  production  of  manufactured 
lumber,  are  situated  yet  farther  north  within  the  Mississippi 
drainage  area. 

The  continuation  of  this  subject,  however,  must  be  left 
for  other  and  younger  writers.  Let  those  who  have  shared 
in  the  great  expansion  of  the  lumber  industry  during  the  later 
period  narrate  its  steps  of  advance,  as  I  have  attempted  to 
give  the  records  of  the  early  time  which  included  my  explora- 
tion and  work. 

Biographic  Sketches. 

Among  those  who  were  my  associates  in  the  years  1847  to 
1860,  Severre  Bottineau  and  Charles  Manock  are  well  remem- 
bered as  companions  of  travel  by  canoe  and  afoot  during  the 
earliest  years  when  I  was  cruising  through  the  pineries  of 
Rum  river  and  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi.  The  de- 
termination of  the  areas  occupied  by  pine  timber  available  for 
logging,  and  the  estimation  of  the  amounts  that  would  be 
yielded  from  different  tracts  on  the  many  streams  of  that 
great  region,  led  many  others  also  to  prospect  or  cruise  in 
search  of  the  most  desirable  areas  for  lumbering.  This  was 
my  principal  work  during  a  large  part  of  each  year  up  to  the 
time  of  my  appointment  as  surveyor  general  of  logs  and  lum- 
ber. It  was  the  custom  of  the  cruiser  to  supply  himself  with 
some  provisions,  a  blanket,  a  rifle  or  shotgun  with  plenty  of 
ammunition,  and  a  good  stock  of  matches  to  start  the  nightly 
campfire,  and  then  to  go  alone,  or  with  one  or  two  comrades, 
into  the  pathless  forests,  there  to  collect  the  information  and 
23 


§54  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

estimates  needed,  remaining  weeks  or  sometimes  even  nionths 
in  the  woods,  and  subsisting  mostly  on  game,  fish,  and  berries. 

Manock  was  hired  to  accompany  my  first  expedition  for  his 
aid  as  a  hunter,  and  we  seldom  lacked  an  abundance  of  wild 
meat.  He  was  a  good  cook,  and  always  performed  the  usual 
work  of  preparing  the  camp  and  meals. 

Severre  Bottineau,  as  previously  noted,  was  a  younger 
brother  of  Pierre,  the  well  known  guide.  He  was  a  stout  and 
athletic  fellow,  accustomed  to  the  hardships  of  exploring. 
His  acquaintance  with  four  languages,  French,  English,  Ojib- 
way,  and  Dakota,  made  him  very  serviceable  in  my  dealings 
with  the  Indians.  It  should  be  added,  too,  that  both  Manock 
and  Bottineau  were  mixed-bloods,  thoroughly  understanding 
the  temperament,  inclinations,  and  usages,  of  the  two  great 
tribes  or  nations  of  red  men  who  then  occupied  and  owned 
nearly  all  of  what  is  now  Minnesota.  Young  Bottineau,  in- 
telligent, friendly,  fond  of  conversation,  and  always  good-na- 
tured, was  my  companion  during  all  the  first  year,  until  Sep- 
tember, 1848. 

It  would  be  a  pleasure  to  me  to  write  further  of  these  men, 
but  I  am  unable  to  do  so,  or  even  to  state  whether  either  of 
them  may  be  still  living. 

There  are  many  among  the  hundred  or  more  who  were  en- 
gaged in  lumbering  here  during  those  early  years  of  whom 
I  would  wish  to  write  my  high  appreciation  and  friendship; 
but  the  proper  limits  of  the  present  paper  forbid  this,  even  if 
the  biographic  information  for  so  many  of  the  old  pioneers 
were  sufficiently  known  to  me.  Six  of  them,  however,  I  may 
be  permitted  to  select,  namely,  Franklin  Steele,  Caleb  D.  Dorr, 
Stunner  W.  Farnham,  John  Martin,  Dorilus  Morrison,  and 
John  S.  Pillsbury,  in  the  chronologic  order  of  their  coming  to 
Minnesota,  of  whom  short  biographic  sketches,  with  portraits, 
are  placed  here  to  give,  by  these  examples,  a  view  of  the  ster- 
ling integrity,  business  sagacity,  and  indomitable  energy  and 
perseverance,  which  characterized  the  pioneer  lumbermen  of 
our  North  Star  State. 

Franklin  Steele 
was  born  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  May  12th,  l£13.   At 
the  age  of  twenty-four  years,  in  1837,  he  came  to  Fort  Spell- 
ing, and  thence  went  to  the  St  Croix  falls  and  took  a  land 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI,  ggg 

claim,  building  a  log  cabin  to  secure  ownership  of  the  water- 
power  there.  In  1838  lie  received  a  federal  appointment  as 
sutler  of  Fort  Snelling.  In  April,  1843,  he  was  married,  in  Bal- 
timore, to  Miss  Anna  Barney,  a  granddaughter  of  Commodore 
Barney  of  the  United  States  Navy,  and  also,  by  her  mother, 
of  Samuel  Chase,  one  of  the  Maryland  signers  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  The  part  taken  by  Mr.  Steele  in  the 
improvement  of  the  water-power  at  the  falls  of  St  Anthony, 
and  in  the  early  development  of  logging  and  manufacturing 
lumber  here,  has  been  noted  in  the  foregoing  pages.  In  1851 
he  was  elected  by  the  legislature  as  one  of  the  first  Board  of 
Eegents  of  the  University  of  Minnesota;  and  by  his  gifts  and 
personal  interest  he  aided  largely  in  establishing  and  sustain- 
ing this  institution.  In  1854  he  built  a  suspension  bridge  con- 
necting St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis,  which  was  the  first 
bridge  to  span  the  Mississippi  in  any  part  of  its  course  from 
lake  Itasca  to  its  mouth.  In  1862  he  was  active  to  aid  the 
settlers  who  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  Sioux 
outbreak  and  massacre.  To  the  close  of  his  life,  September 
10th,  1880,  he  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  public-spirited 
citizens  of  his  adopted  state.  Mr.  Steele  began  the  utilization 
of  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  lived  to  see  the  city  which  he 
so  largely  aided  to  found  there  grow  to  have  48,000  people. 
Another  has  justly  written,  "His  life  was  peculiarly  unselfish, 
and  largely  devoted  to  the  prosecution  of  public  measures,  of 
which  others  have  chiefly  reaped  the  benefits." 

Caleb  D.  Dorr 
was  born  at  East  Great  Works  (now  Bradley),  in  Penobscot 
county,  Maine,  July  9th,  1824.  He  had  worked  several  years 
in  the  pineries  of  the  Penobscot  river,  cutting  and  driving 
logs,  before  he  came  to  St.  Anthony  in  the  autumn  of  1847, 
arriving  here  October  1st.  He  was  employed  mainly  during 
1848  in  the  construction  of  the  first  dam  and  sawmill  of  Steele, 
Gushing,  and  Company,  at  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony;  and  in 
the  spring  and  summer  of  that  year  he  built  the  first  boom 
above  the  falls.  Late  in  the  autumn  of  1847  he  had  cut  pine  in 
the  vicinity  of  Little  Falls  and  Swan  river,  intended  for  the 
St.  Anthony  dam  and  boom;  and  in  1848  he  ran  the  first  rafts 
and  drives  of  logs  from  the  upper  Mississippi  river  to  St.  Anr 


356  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

thony,  which  my  logging  crew  had  cut  during  the  preceding 
winter,  as  narrated  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  paper.  On  the 
4th  of  March,  1849,  in  a  visit  east  after  his  first  year  in  Minne- 
sota, he  married  Oelestia  A.  Eicker  of  Maine. 

Mr.  Dorr  brought  the  first  machine  used  at  St.  Anthony 
for  making  shingles,  in  1850.  During  many  years  he  was  one 
of  the  principal  lumbermen  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  cutting 
logs  chiefly  on  the  Rum  river.  In  1866  he  accepted  the  office 
of  boom  master,  and  held  it  many  years.  He  is  still  living 
in  Minneapolis,  where  he  has  held  numerous  positions  of  honor 
and  trust,  one  of  the  earliest  being  as  an  alderman  in  the  first 
city  council  of  St.  Anthony,  in  1858. 

Sumner  W.  Farnham 

was  born  in  Calais,  Maine,  April  2nd,  1820.  His  father  was  a 
surveyor  of  logs  and  lumber  on  the  St.  Croix  river,  which 
forms  the  boundary  between  Maine  and  New  Brunswick,  and 
the  son  inherited  a  strong  inclination  for  the  lumber  business. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  began  work  with  his  father 
about  the  sawmills,  and  four  years  later  went  into  the  pine 
woods  to  cut  logs  on  his  own  account.  In  1840  he  bought  a 
sawmill,  and  ran  it  four  years.  In  September,  1847,  he  left 
Calais  and  came  west.  After  examining  the  lumbering  pros- 
pects of  eastern  Michigan  and  wintering  in  the  lead-mining 
region  of  southwestern  Wisconsin,  he  arrived!  at  Stillwater 
in  the  spring  of  1848.  He  was  at  first  employed  in  logging 
by  his  friend,  John  McKusick,  who  had  previously  come  from 
the  same  part  of  Maine.  On  the  way  up  the  Mississippi,  the 
steamer  which  brought  Mr.  Farnham  had  been  pushed  ashore 
by  a  gale,  with  drifting  ice,  near  the  site  of  Lake  City,  and  there 
I  first  met  him,  aiding  the  captain  in  his  endeavors  to  get  the 
boat  again  into  the  water.  This  was  while  I  was  on  my  way 
to  Galena,  partly  for  the  business  of  Mr.  Steele  in  relation  to 
capital  supplied  from  the  east  for  the  improvements  at  St. 
Anthony  Falls.  The  next  winter  Mr.  Farnham  went  into  the 
woods  of  Eum  river  as  foreman  of  one  of  my  logging  camps. 
In  the  next  two  summers,  he  did  the  greater  part  of  the  work 
of  clearing  this  river  of  its  driftwood,  opening  it  for  log-driv- 
ing from  its  upper  tributaries. 

During  1850  and  several  ensuing  years,  Mr.  Farnham  was 
very  profitably  engaged  in  logging  and  lumber  manufacturing. 


3$^£&*% 


JOHN  MARTIN. 


Minnesota  Htstobio  a.  l  Society, 

Vol.  IX.    Plate  X. 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  357 

June  1st,  1851,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Eunice  Estes,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jonathan  Estes,  an  immigrant  from  Maine.  In  1854, 
with  Samuel  Tracy,  he  opened  the  first  bank  in  St.  Anthony, 
which  continued  in  business  until  1858.  It  was  then  closed, 
on  account  of  the  prevailing  financial  depression,  and  all  the 
depositors  were  fully  paid,  though  at  a  considerable  loss  of  the 
capital  invested  by  Mr.  Farnham  and  his  partners.  In  1860  he 
associated  with  himself  James  A.  Lovejoy,  forming  the  lumber 
firm  of  Farnham  and  Lovejoy,  which  continued  in  this  busi- 
ness twenty-eight  years,  ^intil  Mr.  Lovejoy's  death.  Their 
total  production  of  manufactured  lumber  is  estimated  to  have 
exceeded  300,000,000  feet 

As  early  as  1849,  Mr.  Farnham  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Library  Association  of  St.  Anthony.  In  1852,  and  again 
in  1856,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Territorial  Legislature.  He 
also  served  as  assessor  and  afterward  as  treasurer  of  St  An- 
thony, and  during  the  Civil  War  was  appointed  with  others 
to  raise  money  for  the  relief  of  soldiers'  families.  Through- 
out his  long  life,  he  has  honorably  fulfilled  his  part  in  the  pro- 
motion of  the  best  interests  of  his  city  and  state,  and  still 
lives  in  Minneapolis,  but  his  health  was  broken  by  paralysis 
several  years  ago. 

John  Martin 
was  born  in  Peacham,  Vermont,  August  18th,  1820,  and  was 
early  inured  to  hard  work  on  his  father's  farm.  In  1839  he 
took  employment  as  a  fireman  on  a  steamboat  plying  on  the 
Connecticut  river,  and  in  time  became  its  captain.  After  five 
years  he  went  with  this  steamboat  to  North  Carolina,  and 
there  was  engaged  in  freighting  on  the  Neuse  river  during 
several  years.  In  1849,  returning  to  Peacham,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Jane  B.  G-ilfillan.  Soon  afterward,  he  went  to  Cali- 
fornia, by  the  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  spent  a  year 
in  placer  gold  mining.  Next  he  returned  and  lived  as  a  farmer 
two  or  three  years  in  Vermont.  But  an  adventurous  tempera- 
ment led  him  to  the  Northwest  in  1854.  Having  found  in  St 
Anthony  opportunities  for  good  investments  in  lumbering,  and 
believing  that  the  little  village  of  that  time  would  become  a 
great  commercial  metropolis,  he  went  back  to  Vermont,  sold 
his  farms,  and  early  in  1855  came  to  reside  permanently  here. 


^58  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

During  that  year  lie  became  interested  in  Mississippi  steams- 
boating,  and  aided  to  form  a  company  for  navigating  the 
river  to  St.  Anthony.  Subsequently  he  "whs  •sesgtoBBbi  M  the 
steamer  Falls  City,  named  for  St.  Anthony,  where  it  had 
been  built,  and  made  regular  trips  far  down  the  Mississippi. 
Through  the  ensuing  forty  years,  he  has  engaged  very  success- 
fully in  lumbering,  operating  many  sawmills,  with  lumber 
yards  in  Minneapolis  and  St  Paul;  in  flour  manufacturing, 
becoming  president  of  the  Northwestern  Consolidated  Milling 
Company  at  Minneapolis,  which  owns  several  large  mills; 
and  in  banking,  and  railway  building.  He  still  lives  amid  the 
scenes  of  his  life  work,  in  review  of  which  a  friend  says: 
"Thus  Captain  Martin's  life,  in  a  private  and  unostentatious 
way,  has  been  full  of  labor,  inspired  by  sagacity,  reaching 

success,  and  contributing  to  the  common  weal 

He  enjoys  in  fullest  measure  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his 
neighbors  and  acquaintances,  and  has  occupied  a  large  place 
in  the  growth  of  Minneapolis." 

Dorilus  Morrison 
was  born  in  Livermore,  Maine,  December  27th,  1814,  his  father, 
a  farmer  of  Scotch  lineage,  having  been  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  that  state.  Dorilus  became  a  merchant  in  Bangor,  a 
part  of  his  business  being  to  furnish  supplies  to  lumbermen 
for  their  winter  logging  camps.  In  1854,  he  first  came  to 
Minnesota  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  pine  lands  for  him- 
self and  others.  Being  very  favorably  impressed  with  the 
advantages  here  for  lumbering,  he  returned  to  Maine,  disposed 
of  his  large  business  interests  there,  and  came,  with  his  family, 
in  the  spring  of  1855,  to  reside  in  St.  Anthony.  During  sev- 
eral years  following,  he  lumbered  on  the  Bum  river  and  its 
branches,  supplying  logs  to  Lovejoy  and  Brockway,  who  had 
leased  the  St.  Anthony  sawmills.  He  was  a  director,  and  at 
times  was  president,  of  the  Minneapolis  Mill  Company,  which 
constructed  a  dam  and  canal  for  utilization  of  water-power 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  at  first  largely  employed  in  saw- 
ing lumber,  and  now  in  manufacturing  flour.  He  built  a 
sawmill,  opened  a  lumber  yard,  and  conducted  all  branches  of 
the  business  from  cutting  the  logs  in  the  woods  to  the  sale  of 
the  manufactured  lumber.  His  sons,  George  H.  and  Clinton 
Morrison,  in  1868,  succeeded  him  in  lumber  manufacturing. 


DORILUS  MOltMSON. 


Minnesota  Historical.  Society, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  XI. 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 

Vat     TY       Pt.atm   YTT 


LUMBERING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  359 

Besides  his  very  extensive  work  in  Minnesota,  Mr.  Morrison 
had  lumber  yards  in  Davenport,  Iowa,  and  in  Hannibal,  Mo. 
His  yard  and  stock  in  Davenport  I  bought  in  1863,  and  con- 
tinued in  business  there  as  his  successor  during  twenty-five 
years. 

In  1856,  he  was  the  first  president  of  the  Union  Board  of 
Trade  of  St.  Anthony  and  Minneapolis,  In  1864  and  1865  he 
was  a  member  of  the  state  senate.  In  1867,  when  Minneapolis 
was  incorporated  as  a  city,  Mr.  Morrison  was  elected  its  first 
mayor,  and  in  1869  he  again  held  this  office. 

He  was  one  of  the  principal  members  of  the  construction 
companies  which  in  the  years  1870  to  1873  built  the  Northern 
Pacific  railroad  through  Minnesota  and  onward  to  the  Missouri 
river;  and  during  many  years  afterward  he  was  a  director  of 
this  great  railroad  corporation.  He  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Minneapolis  Harvester  Works.  During  the  later  part 
of  his  life,  he  was  for  several  terms  a  member  of  the  city 
Board  of  Education,  and  was  long  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Park  Commissioners  of  Minneapolis.  From  its  beginning,  he 
was  one  of  the  chief  supporters  of  the  Athenaeum  Library, 
which  is  now  a  part  of  the  city  public  library.  After  a  most 
active  and  eminently  useful  life,  spent  in  Minnesota  for  its 
last  forty-two  years,  he  died  June  26th,  1897. 

John  8.  Pillsbury 
was  born  in  Button,  New  Hampshire,  July  29th,  1827.  His 
education  was  limited  to  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
town;  and  from  the  age  of  sixteen  to  twenty-one  years  he  was 
a  clerk  in  the  general  country  store  of  his  brother,  George  A. 
Pillsbury,  then  of  Warner,  N.  H.  He  was  afterward  in  mer- 
cantile partnership  during  two  years  with  Walter  Harriman, 
of  Warner,  who  was  his  senior  by  ten  years,  and  who  was 
twice  elected  governor  of  New  Hampshire,  in  1867  and  1868. 
Mr.  Pillsbury  was  next  engaged  two  years  as  a  merchant 
tailor  and  cloth  dealer  in  Concord,  N.  H.  In  1853  he  began 
a  tour  of  observation  throughout  the  western  states,  and  in 
June,  1855,  came  to  Minnesota,  and  settled  at  St.  Anthony, 
now  the  east  part  of  Minneapolis,  which  has  ever  since  been 
his  home.  Eeturning  east  for  a  visit,  he  married  Miss  Mahala 
Fisk,  in  Warner,  N.  H.,  November  3rd,  1856. 


360  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCI^XS"  OOIiTiECTIONS. 

In  St.  Anthony  he  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  with 
George  F.  Cross  and  Woodbury  Fisk,  his  brother-in-law.  The 
firm  prospered,  until,  at  the  same  time  with  the  financial  panic 
of  1857,  their  store  was  burned  at  a  loss  of  about  f  38,000,  with- 
out insurance.  Beginning  anew,  Mr.  Pillsbury  reorganized 
the  business,  and  by  hard  work  and  honesty  of  dealing  made 
his  establishment  the  leading  hardware  house  of  the  North- 
west. His  trade  consisted  largely  of  supplies  for  lumbermen 
and  millwrights,  and  it  was  continued  until  1875,  being  then 
relinquished  to  give  attention  more  fully  to  lumbering  and 
flour  milling. 

During  the  past  twenty-five  years,  Mr.  Pillsbury  has  been 
actively  interested  in  logging  and  the  manufacture  of  lum- 
ber. Through  the  greater  part  of  this  time,  the  Gull  River 
Lumber  Company,  under  his  general  supervision  as  president, 
has  carried  on  a  very  extensive  business,  cutting  logs  in  the 
pineries  of  Gull  river  and  a  large  adjoining  district,  and  saw- 
ing the  lumber  at  Gull  River  station  and  Brainerd. 

In  1869,  with  his  nephew,  Charles  A.  Pillsbury,  he  estab- 
lished the  flour-milling  firm  of  C.  A.  Pillsbury  and  Company, 
which  later  included  his  brother,  George  A.  Pillsbury,  and 
another  nephew,  Fred  C.  Pillsbury.  This  firm  built  and  oper- 
ated several  large  flouring  mills,  one  being  the  largest  in  the 
world,  capable  of  producing  7,000  barrels  of  flour  daily.  In 
1890  this  immense  business,  with  that  of  other  prominent  flour 
manufacturers  in  Minneapolis,  was  sold  to  an  English  syndi- 
cate, for  which  Mr.  John  S.  Pillsbury  continues  to  share  in  the 
management  of  these  mills  as  an  American  director. 

By  his  distinguished  public  services  for  Minnesota,  Mr. 
Pillsbury  has  won  the  enduring  gratitude  of  all  her  citizens. 
In  1860  and  ensuing  years,  he  was  an  alderman  of  St.  Anthony; 
in  1864  and  onward,  a  member  of  the  state  senate;  and  in  1876 
to  1882  he  was  for  three  successive  terms  the  governor  of  this 
commonwealth.  In  1861  he  rendered  very  efficient  aid  in  or- 
ganizing regiments  of  Minnesota  volunteers  for  the  Civil  War, 
and  in  1862  raised  and  equipped  a  mounted  company  for  serv- 
ice against  the  Sioux  outbreak  in  Minnesota. 

In  1863,  Mr.  Pillsbury  was  appointed  a  regent  of  the  State 
University,  in  which  position  he  has  continued  to  the  present 
time,  constantly  giving  most  devoted  care  to  the  upbuilding 


LUMBEKING  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  %Q± 

of  this  great  institution  of  learning.  Financial  difficulties 
which  beset  the  University  in  its  early  years  were  met  and 
overcome  by  Mr,  Pillsbury's  wise  direction;  and  its  steady 
growth  to  its  rank  as  one  of  the  largest  and  best  universities 
of  the  United  States  has  been  in  great  part  due  to  his  watch- 
fulness, persistent  efforts,  and  personal  influence.  One  of  its 
chief  buildings  was  donated  by  him,  and  is  named  in  his  honor. 

The  private  benefactions  of  Governor  Pillsbury  and  his 
wife  have  been  many  and  generous,  but  unostentatious.  Their 
noble  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  the  community,  the  city,  and 
the  state,  leads  all  who  know  them  to  wish  very  heartily  for 
each  of  them  long  continuance  of  life,  with  all  the  blessings 
that  kind  Providence  can  give. 

Statistics. 

For  the  early  years,  to  1855,  the  following  statistics  of 
lumber  production  are  derived,  approximately,  from  the 
scalers'  record  books;  and  for  the  ensuing  years  from  reports 
of  the  surveyors  general  of  logs  and  lumber,  beginning  in  1856. 
The  summary  of  these  reports  was  published  during  many 
years  in  the  governors'  messages,  and  afterward  in  the  reports 
of  the  commissioners  of  statistics. 

As  the  printing  of  this  paper  has  been  delayed,  I  am  able 

to  include  the  figures  for  the  year  1899.    The  table  thus  com- 

prises  a  period  of  fifty-two  years. 

Year.  Feet.  Year.  Feet. 

1848 2,000,000  1874 222,466,520 

1849 3,500,000  1875 172,775,000 

1850 6,500,000  1876 200,371,277 

1851. 8,830,000  1877 137,081,140 

1852 11,600,000  1878 141,380,530 

1853 23,610,000  1879 189,422,490 

1854 32,944,000  1880 255,306,080 

1855 36,228,314  1881 298,583,190 

1856 41,230,000  1882 390,507,510 

1857 44,434,147  1883 361,295,800 

1858 42,117,000  1884 384,151,420 

1859 29,382,000  1885 378,160,690 

1860 45,000,000  1886 3^2,260,820 

1861 41,196,484  1887 254,056,690 

1862 40,000,000  1888 407,009,440 

1863 21,634,700  1889 287,977,130 

1864 35,897,618  1890 344,493,790 

1865 108,328,278  1891 425,765,260 

1866 72,805,100  1892 505,407,898 

1867 113,867,502  1893 428,172,260 

1868 115,889,558  1894 459,862,756 

1869 146,782,530  1895 539,012,678 

1870 121,438,640  1896 385,312,226 

1871 117,206,590  1897 527,367,710 

1872 179,722,250  1898 533,179,510 

1873 197,743,150  1899 678,364,430 


3§2  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  CQkkUQTIONS. 

The  great  expansion  and  ratios  of  growth  of  this  industry 
during  the  half  century  are  more  concisely  indicated  in  a  sec- 
ond table,  formed  by  addition  of  successive  parts  of  the  pre- 
ceding table,  these  parts  being  then  added  to  give  their  aggre- 
gate amount. 

Feet. 

1848  to  1850,  three  years 12,000,000 

1851,  to  1860,  ten  years 315,375,461 

1861  to  1870,  ten  years 817,840,410 

1871  to  1880,  ten  years 1,813,475,027 

1881  to  1890,  ten  years 3,428,496,480 

1891  to  1899,  nine  years 4,482,444,728 

Total,  fifty-two  years 10,869,632,106 

A  considerable  amount  of  other  pine  lumber,  however,  is 
cut  in  this  district,  doubtless  as  much  as  a  tenth  and  perhaps 
even  more  than  a  fifth  of  that  here  tabulated,  which  fails  to 
appear  in  the  official  returns.  The  whole  lumber  product  to 
the  present  time  has  therefore  equalled  or  exceeded  twelve 
billion  feet.  Fully  two-thirds  of  this  amount,  or  about  eight 
billion  feet,  have  been  sawn  in  Minneapolis. 

Allowing  six  dollars  per  thousand  feet  as  the  average 
value  of  this  lumber  at  the  sawmills,  it  will  be  seen  that  its 
total  value  in  this  district  has  amounted,  in  round  numbers, 
to  $75,000,000,  the  sawn  lumber  of  Minneapolis  having  been 
worth  $50,000,000. 

In  the  census  of  1890,  the  city  of  Minneapolis  was  reported 
to  have  thirty-nine  establishments  engaged  in  lumber  manu- 
factures, including,  besides  the  sawing  of  logs,  the  many  plan- 
ing mills  and  the  various  mills  and  factories  for  making  sash, 
doors,  blinds,  laths,  shingles,  etc.  Their  aggregate  capital 
invested  was  somewhat  more  than  $10,000,000;  their  combined 
number  of  employees  was  3,894,  receiving  $1,800,000  in  yearly 
wages;  and  the  value  of  their  products,  for  a  year,  was  $9,626,- 
S75. 

Since  that  date,  within  the  last  nine  years,  the  lumber  busi- 
ness has  undoubtedly  increased  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  in 
Minneapolis;  and  for  the  entire  district,  taking  into  considera- 
tion the  many  towns  and  hamlets  whose  chief  industry  is  lum- 
ber manufacturing,  it  has  quite  certainly  doubled. 


^WW^i: 


/%.  %.£tvdjm&*P^ 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Vol.  IX,    Plate  XIII. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE  CITY  AND  PEOPLE  OP 
ST.  PAUL,  18434898. 


BY  AUGUST  L.  LAKPENTEUR. 


"There's  a  Divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Bough-hew  them  how  we  will." 

I  am  requested  by  our  worthy  Secretary  to  make  some  re- 
marks upon  the  early  settlement  of  our  beloved  state  and  the 
city  of  St.  Paul  in  particular,  for  your  edification.  I  shall 
endeavor  to  do  so  in  as  simple  and  interesting  a  manner  as 
I  am  capable  of,  under  the  circumstances.  In  my  early  days 
the  benefits  of  a  classical  education  were  not  easily  acquired, 
and  not  within  the  reach  of  everyone,  as  to-day;  hence,  you 
will  pardon  me  if  I  my  tale  unfold  incoherently.  As  a  plea 
for  my  undertaking  to  perform  this,  my  duty,  I,  as  well  as 
every  other  old  settler,  owe  it  to  posterity. 

The  development  of  the  great  Northwest  was  not  due  alone 
to  the  graduates  of  the  Harvards,  Yales,  Princetons,  or  Will- 
iam and  Marys,  but  largely  to  the  noble  and  sturdy  class  of 
pioneers,  the  coureurs  des  hois,  the  Indian  traders.  ?Twas  they 
who  first  penetrated  these  vast  forests  and  plains,  and  by 
their  traffic  with  the  natives  soon  paved  the  way  for  large 
cities  like  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  and  St.  Paul,  to  be 
built  upon  their  once  "happy  hunting  grounds."  These  traders 
were  brave  men,  many  of  them  men  of  refinement,  choosing 
this  vocation  because  it  brought  them  close  to  nature  and 
nature's  God.  Few  but  us  old  settlers  can  realize  the  worldly 
paradise  we  had  here,  and  no  one  better  than  we  can  under- 
stand the  reluctance  with  which  the  Indians  left  it. 

Before  civilization  desecrated  it,  I  may  say,  it  was  a  land 
flowing  with  milk  and  honey.     We  had  game  of  all  kinds 


♦Read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,  September  12, 
1898. 


364  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

right  at  our  door,  and  were  not  circumscribed  by  game  laws; 
fish  of  every  variety  abounded  in  our  many  lakes;  and  a  day's 
ride  from  where  we  stand  would  bring  us  into  buffalo  herds. 
Some  great  inland  seas,  and  other  lakes  of  less  magnitude, 
but  all  containing  pure,  limpid  water,  shone  forth  with  the  re- 
flection of  the  sun,  like  so  many  diadems  in  the  crown  of 
some  fairy  queen.  When  Father  Hennepin  made  his  report  to 
Louis  XIV  ("le  Grand  Roi,"  as  he  was  called),  the  king  dubbed 
him  "le  Grand  Menteur"  (the  big  liar).  He  could  not  believe 
such  a  country  could  exist,  and  the  good  friar  had  not  half 
told  all  there  was,  or  that  could  be  said  about  it.  And  little 
did  I  think,  when  a  boy  in  Maryland,  studying  my  geography 
in  a  Baltimore  county  schoolhouse,  that  I  would  ever  see  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  Nor  was  it  my  intention,  when  I  left 
home,  to  come  in  this  direction;  hence,  I  have  adopted  the 
above  text.  The  part  which  I  took  in  the  formation  of  our 
state  and  city  was  purely  accidental.  Some  of  our  most  worthy 
and  honored  citizens  came  here  for  a  purpose,  as  governors, 
judges,  etc.;  but  I  came  here  for  "romance  alone,"  to  take  of 
nature  all  she  had  to  give  and  give  nothing  in  return.  This 
idea  came  to  me  from  circumstances  which  I  shall  treat  upon 
later  on. 

KINDRED,   AND  MIGRATION   TO  ST.   PAUL. 

My  grandfather  was  a  great  admirer  of  Napoleon,  and  one 
of  his  strong  adherents,  a  member  of  the  National  Guards 
and,  after  Waterloo,  he  could  not  be  contented  with  a  Bourbon 
dynasty.  Therefore,  in  1816,  he  packed  his  grip  and  came  to 
America,  and  settled  near  Baltimore.  His  family  consisted  of 
three  boys  and  one  girl.  My  father  was  the  eldest.  His  name 
was  Louis.  The  second  was  Eugene,  who  became  a  worthy 
citizen  of  this  state  and  died  in  1877,  loved  and  respected  by 
all  who  knew  him.  The  youngest  was  named  Charles,  and  of 
him  I  shall  speak  later. 

My  father  married  a  Miss  Simmons,  of  Mount  Washington, 
Baltimore  county.  Her  father  was  a  drummer  in  the  war  of 
1812,  and  was  what  was  called  "an  Old  Defender,"  a  society 
that  has  now  become  extinct.  They  were  among  those  who 
defended  the  city  of  Baltimore  from  the  invasion  of  the 
British,  and  killed  their  General  Boss  at  the  battle  of  North 
Point. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  ST.   PAUL,   1843-1898.  365 

When  I  was  about  six  years  old,  my  mother  died,  leaving 
myself  and  an  only  brother.  We  were  taken  to  our  grand- 
father's, and  with  him  I  made  my  future  home.  Grandmother, 
before  dying,  enjoined  my  grandfather  to  care  for  and  have 
me  in  his  keeping,  and  truly  the  good  man  did,  and  for  years 
we  were  inseparable. 

My  uncle  Charles,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  being  rather 
of  a  romantic  disposition  and  not  well  disposed  to  manual 
labor,  embraced  the  first  opportunity  to  gratify  his  ambition. 
A  friend  of  our  family,  Colonel  Johnson,  had  for  some  time 
been  an  Indian  agent  at  St.  Louis  for  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and 
for  various  tribes  along  the  Missouri.  He  came  to  Baltimore 
for  the  purpose  of  receiving  his  portion  of  an  estate  that  had 
been  left  him.  A  part  of  that  portion  consisted  of  twenty- 
five  negroes.  In  course  of  conversation  with  grandfather,  Col. 
Johnson  said  he  would  like  Charles,  my  uncle,  to  accompany 
him  out  west  as  far  as  St.  Louis.  Here  was  Charles'  oppor- 
tunity, and  he  embraced  it  at  once,  his  father  being  willing. 
This  was  in  1828.  His  autobiography  is  now  in  the  hands  of 
the  publisher,  Francis  P.  Harper,  of  New  York,  as  edited  by  Dr. 
Elliott  Coues,  of  Washington  City,  from  his  diary,  which, 
when  published,  I  shall  be  pleased  to  present  to  this  Historical 
Society. 

Charles  Larpenteur  had  been  in  the  West  about  eight 
years,  five  of  which  had  been  spent  in  the  Indian  country, 
when  he  made  us  his  first  visit.  I  was  then  a  lad  going  to 
school.  He  brought  with  him  a  variety  of  Indian  curiosities, 
among  which  were  complete  suits  of  an  Indian  chief  and  his 
squaw,  all  trimmed  with  beads  and  the  quills  of  the  fretful 
porcupine.  The  squaw's  dress  just  fitted  me,  and  he  dressed 
me  up  for  exhibition  to  our  friends;  and  he,  as  the  great  chief, 
would  give  the  war  whoop,  and  go  through  their  various 
antics,  much  to  our  edification.  From  that  moment,  I  made 
up  my  mind  that  I  would  see  and  realize  some  of  this,  and 
traverse  the  vast  plains,  of  which  he  gave  us  such  glowing 
accounts. 

We  were  still  suffering  from  the  effects  of  the  panic  of 
1837,  and  in  1841  my  uncle  Eugene,  who  was  occupying  the 
old  homestead,  the  "Pimlico  farm,"  made  up  his  mind  that  he 
would  go  west,  upon  the  solicitation  of  his  brother  Charles. 


ggg  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Thereupon  I  got  the  consent  of  my  grandfather  to  accompany 
him  as  far  as  St.  Louis.  We  came  from  Baltimore  to  Harris- 
burg,  Penn.,  by  rail  and  canal,  and  also  by  canal  to  Hollidays* 
burg;  crossed  the  Allegheny  mountains,  descending  an  in- 
clined plain  to  Johnstown;  travelled  from  Johnstown  to  Pitts- 
burg by  canal;  and  thence  down  the  Ohio  river  by  boat  to 
Cairo,  and  up  the  Mississippi  river  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  reaching 
the  latter  point  about  October  first  My  intention  was  to 
remain  in  St.  Louis  during  the  winter,  and  go  up  into  the 
Indian  country  on  the  upper  Missouri  with  my  uncle  Charles 
in  the  following  spring,  as  we  then  expected  him  down  in 
charge  of  a  fleet  of  Mackinaw  boats  loaded  with  their  winter's 
catch  of  furs.  But,  as  fate  would  have  it,  the  company  sent 
him  the  other  way  among  the  Blackfeet  Indians,  toward  the 
headwaters  of  the  Yellowstone  river  and  the  great  Park, 
which  then  was  unknown,  but  today  is  recognized  as  one  of 
our  most  precious  national  treasures. 

This  vast  country  was  owned  by  various  tribes  of  Indians,, 
and  California  had  not  yet  been  ceded  to  the  United  States 
government  by  Mexico.  All  traders  had  to  receive  a  license 
permitting  them  to  trade,  or  even  to  travel  or  hunt,  within 
these  territories.  The  country  was  full  of  game  of  all  kinds, 
and  the  Indians  lived  "like  gods."  The  buffalo  roamed  in 
their  midst  without  fear,  as  if  placed  there  by  a  bountiful 
Providence  for  their  special  benefit.  The  fur  trade  was  of 
vast  importance;  and,  as  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  of  British! 
America,  often  encroached  upon  this  territory,  American 
traders  kept  close  to  the  line  in  opposition  to  them.  My 
uncle  Charles'  services  being  very  valuable  to  the  company, 
he  was  induced  to  remain  in  the  country.  Therefore,  the  fleet 
of  the  American  Fur  Company  arrived  in  St.  Louis  in  the 
spring  of  1843  without  him,  as  it  did  the  spring  previous,  and 
I  abandoned  for  that  season  again  the  hope  of  reaching  the 
plains  of  the  upper  Missouri.  In  the  meantime,  I  remained 
in  the  family  of  my  uncle  Eugene,  and  assisted  him  in  his 
vocation.  The  spring  following  his  arrival  he  leased  about  five 
acres  of  ground  upon  which  there  was  a  comfortable  little 
house,  situated  on  Chouteau  avenue,  near  Chouteau's  pond, 
for  the  purpose  of  market  gardening;  and  the  two  years  I 
remained  with  him  our  crops  were  simply  immense.     But 


KSCOLLECTIONS   OF  ST.   PAUL.,   1843-1898.  357 

we  could  get  nothing  for  them.  There  was  no  money.  The 
few  dollars  he  had  brought  with  him  from  the  East  he  had 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  friend,  who  afterwards  failed,  pro- 
ducing a  crisis;  and  two  years  later,  with  the  remnant  of  the 
wreck,  he  returned  to  Baltimore,  and  to  the  old  homestead, 
Pimlico,  where  he  remained  until  he  came  to  St.  Paul  in  1849. 

By  the  treaty  proclaimed  June  15th,  1838,  the  Sioux  Indi- 
ans, comprising  the  bands  of  Wabasha,  Bed  Wing,  Kaposia, 
Black  Dog,  Lake  Calhoun,  Shakopee,  and  Good  Road,  ceded  to 
the  United  States  government  all  their  lands  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  thus  opening  up  this  country  to  settlement. 
No  longer  was  any  license  required  to  trade  with  the  Indians. 
The  country  was  free  to  all.  Quite  a  number  of  persons  be- 
came engaged  along  the  St.  Croix  river  in  lumbering,  and 
others  in  trading  with  Indians  for  furs. 

In  the  spring  of  1843  a  friend  of  ours,  Mr.  William  Harts- 
horn, whose  business  was  buying  furs,  made  a  trip  up  the 
Mississippi  river  as  far  as  Fort  Snelling.  Previous  to  this,  a 
mission  had  been  established  by  the  Reverend  Father  Galtier, 
in  1841,  some  six  miles  below  Fort  Smelling,  and  dedicated  to 
St.  Paul.  Around  this  mission  a  few  families  of  refugees  from 
Fort  Garry  and  employees  of  the  Fur  Company  had  settled, 
among  whom  were  Benjamin  and  Pierre  Gervais,  Joseph 
Rondo,  Pierre  Bottineau,  Abraham  Perry,  Vital  Guerin,* 
Scott  Campbell,  Francois  Morin,  Menoek  Dyerly,  James  R. 
Clewett,  Sergeant  Richard  W.  Mortimer,  and  Edward  Phalen. 
The  only  accessible  landing  for  boats  was  near  this  mission 
chapel  of  St.  Paul,  in  consequence  of  the  high  bluffs  between 
that  point  and  the  fort,  and  hence  the  vicinity  of  the  mission 
became  the  site  of  our  beautiful  city,  and  its  name  was  given 
for  the  patron  saint  of  the  chapel. 

When  my  friend  reached  this  point,  a  gentleman  boarded 
the  boat  and  joined  the  party  for  the  fort.  This  was  Mr.  Henry 
Jackson,  who  with  his  wife  had  located  here  the  fall  previous. 
He  had  traded  with  the  Indians,  and  had  accumulated  quite 
a  quantity  of  furs.  These  Mr.  Hartshorn  bought,  and  at  the 
same  time  formed  a  copartnership  with  Mr.  Jackson.  Re- 
turning to  St.  Louis,  and  buying  an  outfit  for  the  firm,  he 


*Mr.  Guerin* s  first  name  has  been  often  misspelled  Vetal,  in  accordance 
with  its  pronunciation. 


368  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

called  upon  me,  giving  me  a  history  of  his  venture  and  inten- 
tions for  his  future  trade  in  this  new  and  but  little  known  In- 
dian country.  He  said  there  were  lialf -breeds  from  the  British 
American  districts  who  visited  St.  Paul  for  the  purpose  of 
trade  and  all  spoke  French!,  and  as  I  spoke  that  language  he 
would  like  my  services.  Here  was  my  opportunity.  I  had  a 
chance  at  last  presented  me  to  see  a  live  Indian;  and,  being 
tired  of  waiting  for  a  place  in  the  Missouri  country,  I  engaged 
myself  to  this  firm  for  an  indefinite  period  at  eight  dollars  per 
month  and  expenses.  I  was  glad  to  get  anything.  A  man's 
services  had  scarcely  any  value  at  all,  and  what  he  produced 
about  the  same.  Oats  sold  for  six  cents  per  bushel;  dressed 
hogs  at  one  and  a  half  cents  per  pound;  and  porter-house  steak 
at  five  cents  per  pound,  with  all  the  liver  you  desired  thrown  in. 
St.  Louis  county  and  city  orders  were  selling  at  forty  cents  on 
the  dollar.    Such  was  the  state  of  things  at  that  time. 

Having  made  the  needed  purchases,  and  consummated 
our  engagement,  I  left  St.  Louis  on  the  steamer  Iowa  with  an 
oufit,  September  1st,  1843.  At  Galena,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant points  between  St.  Louis  and  Fort  Snelling,  in  con- 
sequence of  its  great  lead  mines,  which  were  at  that  period! 
attracting  as  many  prospectors  as  California  at  a  later  day, 
we  reshipped  all  our  outfit  on  board  the  Steamer  Otter.  Oapt. 
Scribe  Harris  was  in  command,  and  Capt.  Thomas  Owens  was 
clerk  and  supercargo.  We  reached  our  destination  here  Sep- 
tember 15th,  1843,  just  fourteen  days  after  our  departure  from 
St.  Louis.  This  was  considered  quite  a  quick  trip.  Just  think 
of  the  difference  in  time  now.  The  Otter  was  a  small  side- 
wheel  steamer,  propelled  by  a  single  engine.  She  had  a  very 
loud  voice,  and  you  could  hear  her  escape  for  miles. 

POPULATION  AND   TRADE  IN  1843. 

Upon  my  arrival,  I  found  my  employer's  partner,  Mr. 
Henry  Jackson,  and  his  estimable  wife,  with  whom  I  was 
soon  made  to  feel  at  home,  and  for  many  years  I  was  pleased 
to  look  upon  her  as  a  mother  and  friend.  Society  was  crude, 
but  pure  and  devoid  of  affectation.  The  white  population, 
taken  all  together  at  that  date,  in  the  vast  territory  that 
now  includes  the  great  state  of  Minnesota,  the  two  Dakotas, 
parts  of  Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  and  all  the  country  across  the 


KBCOLLECTIONS   OF   ST.   PAUL,   1843-1898.  359 

Missouri  river  to  the  Pacific  coast,  did  not  exceed  three 
hundred.  To-day  we  count  them  by  the  millions.  The  Indian 
and  the  buffalo  have  disappeared  and  given  place  to  habits  of 
civilization,  with  its  railroads,  electric  cars,  rules  of  etiquette, 
and  conventional  customs.  We  found  this  country  new.  We 
were  beyond  the  bounds  of  civilization,  beyond  the  frontier. 
The  former  we  enjoy  to-day  with  all  its  advantages;  but  the 
latter,  the  frontier,  where  is  it?  Can  any  man  tell?  It  has 
disappeared  forever. 

Our  trade  was  with  the  natives,  and  with  them  I  became 
exceedingly  interested.  I  acquired  in  a  very  short  time  suf- 
ficient knowledge  of  their  language  to  get  along  nicely  with 
them  in  their  trade,  and  in  a  couple  of  years  became  quite 
proficient.  In  fact,  I  was  obliged  immediately  to  study  up  the 
language,  because  I  needed  to  use  it  as  soon  as  the  fur  season 
commenced,  which  was  in  November.  All  furs  are  considered 
in  their  prime  at  that  season;  mink,  otter  and  coon,  in  par- 
ticular. I  was  usually  sent  out  to  their  hunting  grounds 
with  various  articles  for  trading,  and  I  would  pick  up  a  good 
many  muskrat  skins  that  others  knew  little  about.  The 
country  abounded  in  game,  and  I  soon  became  an  expert  in 
the  chase. 

Competition  was  great  in  those  days.  One  had  to  keep  on 
the  alert,  for  the  American  Fur  Company  regarded  the  fur 
trade  as  exclusively  their  own,  and  when  Louis  Robert,  James 
W.  Simpson,  and  Hartshorn  &  Jackson,  came  upon  the  scene, 
they  were  looked  upon  as  intruders.  I  remember  on  one  oc- 
casion, it  was  a  Christmas  eve,  \ye  were  all  enjoying  ourselves 
at  citizen  Robert's;  I  believe  it  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  cele- 
bration of  the  marriage  of  his  niece  to  Mr.  Simpson.  About 
ten  o'clock  I  withdrew,  having  my  train  already  loaded,  and 
started  out  with  Scott  Campbell  as  my  interpreter,  and  Acka- 
wasta  as  my  guide.  We  reached  Little  Canada  about  mid- 
night, and  camped  by  the  side  of  that  beautiful  lake,  with 
nothing  but  a  Mackinaw  blanket  for  my  covering.  Old  Scott 
Campbell  was  very  fond  of  his  nips,  and  he  and  the  old  Indian 
were  having  a  jolly  good  time,  while  I  was  attending  to  the 
domestic  affairs  necessary  for  our  comfort.  Having  felled  a 
good-sized  oak  tree,  preparatory  to  making  our  camp  fire,  old 
man  Campbell  rose  up  in  order  to  help  me,  when  he  stumbled 
24 


370  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

over  the  log  and  fell  head  foremost  into  three  feet  of  snow, 
and  before  I  could  dig  him  out  I  thought  he  would  smother. 

I  had  not  been  long  in  the  country  before  it  became  neces- 
sary that  I  should  have  an  Indian  name.  One  day,  "Techa," 
Old  Bets'  brother,  came  into  the  store,  and  being  quite  a  wag, 
from  some  act  of  mine,  he  baptized  me  "Wamduska,"  the  ser- 
pent, and  by  that  name  I  have  been  known  from  St.  Paul  to  the 
British  line  and  wherever  there  was  a  Dakota  Indiani.  I  soon 
learned  to  speak  their  language  fluently,  and  have  always  re- 
tained their  confidence  and  good  will. 

The  Indians  then  received  their  annuities  with  commend- 
able regularity,  and  for  many  days  after  the  yearly  payment  the 
old  traders  and  their  visitors  would  enjoy  to  their  hearts' 
content  a  lively  game  of  poker,  and  a  stranger  who  would 
happen  to  come  around  was  sure  to  be  amused.  Such  old 
fellows  as  Donald  McDonald,  William  A.  Aitkin,  and  some 
others,  the  names  of  whom  I  have  now  forgotten,  could  enter- 
tain the  most  adept,  and  give  them  a  percentage  besides.  On 
one  occasion,  I  remember  one  of  my  employers  about  the 
Christmas  holidays  thought  he  would  make  a  trip  up  among 
these  traders,  because,  having  sold  more  goods  for  cash  than 
was  desirable,  and  having  no  use  for  the  money  until  spring,, 
he  wished  to  invest  it  in  buying  some  of  their  furs  for  cash. 
Taking  a  friend  along,  he  remained  away  about  ten  days,  re- 
turning without  money  or  furs.  He  said  that  upon  their  ar- 
rival, they  found  it  impossible  to  invest  their  cash  in  furs. 
The  traders  would  not  sell.  Their  returning  hotme  without 
furs  and  without  money  was  accounted  for  by  the  statement 
that  on  their  way  down,  just  a  little  above  Anoka,  while  they 
were  on  the  river,  the  ice  gave  way  and  they  were  precipitated 
into  the  water  and  lost  the  saddle-bags  containing  their  money 
and  came  near  losing  their  lives  besides.  They  resolved  to 
go  back  at  once,  after  procuring  rakes  and  other  tools,  in 
hopes  that  they  might  be  able  to  recover  the  saddle-bags  and 
the  money.  Next  morning  bright  and  early  they  started  back, 
taking  me  along.  We  reached  "Anoka  Sippi"  (Rum  river) 
about  camping  time,  but,  a  thaw  having  come  on,  in  the  morn- 
ing we  could  not  cross  the  river.  The  snow  had  nearly  all 
gone,  hence  we  were  obliged  to  return  without  further  search 
for  that  money  bag.    'Twas  just  as  well,  for  although  I  was 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  ST.   PAUL,   I84£-1898.  §7J 

not  a  very  bright  boy,  and  bad  many  tilings  yet  to  learn,  'twas 
just  as  I  had  surmised.  The  company's  money  got  into  a  hole 
before  it  reached  that  in  the  Mississippi  river.  Oh,  these 
old  traders  were  a  jolly  set,  and  whenever  yon  came  in  con- 
tact with  them  they  always  left  you  something  to  remember 
them  by. 

The  old  firm  dissolved  shortly  after  that,  and  divided  their 
stock,  Mr.  Hartshorn  removing  his  post  to  a  place  situated 
where  the  Central  Police  station  is  to-day,  on  Third  street  at 
the  head  of  Hill  street.  This  house  was  built  of  hewn  logs 
by  Sergeant  Mortimer,  and  contained  three  rooms,  a  bedroom 
at  one  end,  a  store  room  at  the  other,  and  a  living  room,  which 
served  both  as  kitchen  and  parlor,  in  the  center,  with  a  huge 
fireplace  in  one  corner,  built  of  stone  and  topped  off  with  a 
flour  barrel. 

MARRIAGE,   AND  OUR  PIONEER   STORE   AND   HOME. 

Before  this  dissolution  took  place,  in  the  year  1845  I  mar- 
ried my  wife,  the  sister  of  the  late  Bartlett  Presley.  She 
came  up  from  St.  Louis  for  that  purpose,  as  this  was  to  be 
our  future  home,  and  I  had  not  the  means  to  make  the  trip  to 
St.  Louis  to  bring  her  up.  You  see  it  was  economy  to  have 
her  come  and  have  the  hymeneal  knot  tied  here,  and  also 
showed  a  good  example  to  our  friends  hereabout.  Mr.  Harts- 
horn's family  being  still  in  St.  Louis,  it  became  very  conven- 
ient for  him  to  have  us  take  charge  of  his  domestic  as  well  as 
his  commercial  affairs,  and  hence  the  situation  accommodated 
us  all  along  the  line.  We  would  have  been  put  to  considera- 
ble inconvenience  had  Mr.  Hartshorn  not  been  able  to  avail 
himself  of  this  location. 

Sergeant  Mortimer  having  died,  Mrs.  Mortimer  was  left  a 
widow  with  four  or  five  children.  About  this  time  William 
Evans,  an  old  soldier  and  acquaintance  of  the  Mortimers, 
whose  time  had  expired,  having  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge, took  a  claim  on  what  is  now  called  Dayton's  Bluff. 
They  became  engaged.  Henry  Jackson  being  at  the  time  a 
justice  of  peace,  they  presented  themselves  before  him  to  have 
the  nuptial  service  performed.  From  some  cause  or  other,  he 
declined  to  do  it,  raying  he  did  not  feel  that  he  had  authority 
to  perform  the  ceremony,  but  he  would  draw  up  a  contract 


372  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

binding  them  to  have  the  rite  performed  as  soon  as  it  could 
be  legally  done.  The  contract  was  drawn  and  duly  signed, 
and  as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  could  not  occupy  both  places,  they 
elected  to  take  for  their  home  Dayton's  Bluff.  Thus  Mr.  Harts- 
horn got  the  original  Mortimer  claim.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans 
lived  happily  a  number  of  years  on  the  bluff,  when  they  sold 
their  claim  to  Mr.  Lyman  Dayton,  after  which  they  moved  to 
Cottage  Grove,  and  in  that  vicinity  have  both  gone  to  their 
reward. 

Moving  into  our  new  quarters,  we  soon  began  to  make  our 
little  home  as  comfortable  as  circumstances  would  permit. 
Many  times  it  became  very  monotonous  and  lonesome  for  this 
young  wife.  The  nearest  neighbors  we  had  were  Mrs.  John 
E.  Irvine  on  the  south,  Scott  Campbell  on  the  east,  and, 
in  order  after  these,  the  families  of  Vital  Guerin,  Benjamin 
Gervais,  James  W.  Simpson,  then  a  bachelor,  and,  finally,  on 
the  extreme  edge  of  the  bluff,  on  the  corner  of  Jackson  and 
Bench  streets,  were  Henry  Jackson  and  his  estimable  wife. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Irvine  were  our  nearest  and  most  congenial 
neighbors.  My  wife  was  accustomed  to  spend  much  of  her 
leisure  time  with  them,  their  house  being  in  sight  and  within 
a  stone's  throw  of  ours. 

At  times  it  used  to  be  very  lively  about  the  shop,  that  is, 
during  the  fur  season,  when  sometimes  we  would  have  so 
many  Indians  lying  about  the  floor  you  could  scarcely  move 
around  without  stepping  on  one.  We  always  had  to  keep 
them  over  night  and  feed  them  besides.  Trading  was  mostly 
done  at  night  anyway,  as  they  did  not  like  to  pass  the  fur 
company's  place  of  business  at  Mendota  when  they  could  be 
seen,  for  some  of  them  were  owing  the  company.  Oh!  the 
Indian  is  human,  and  don't  you  forget  it! 

Let  me  say  right  here,  we  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the 
wives  and  mothers  of  the  old  settlers  and  pioneers  of  Minne- 
sota. It  is  to  them  that  many  of  us  owe  the  blessings  we 
now  enjoy  in  this  North  Star  State.  Many  of  them  left  the 
comforts  of  home,  and  friends,  loving  mothers  and  doting  fath- 
ers, to  follow  us  adventurers  into  an  unknown  land,  and  how 
well  they  have  done  their  part!  Many  of  us  would  have  fallen 
by  the  wayside,  but  by  their  prayers  and  helping  hands  they 
have  bidden  us  rise  again,  and  thus  we  were  enabled  to  face 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   ST.   PAUL,   1843-1898.  373 

the  stern  realities  of  life.  Such,  were  the  wives  of  the  old  set- 
ters, and  to  them  is  due  all  praise  for  the  benefits  we  are  all 
enjoying  here  to-day. 

To  one  of  these  I  may  say  I  am  indebted  for  being  able  to 
be  with  you  this  evening.  It  was  a  dark  and  dismal  night. 
My  wife  had  retired.  I  was  about  closing  up.  There  were  yet 
a  few  embers  aglow  in  the  fireplace,  when  a  knock  was  heard 
at  the  door.  We  were  alone.  I  opened  the  door,  when  an 
Indian  came  in,  seating  himself  by  the  fire.  I  was  in  hopes 
that  after  he  had  warmed  himself  he  would  get  up  and  go 
away.  I  entertained  him  as  wrell  as  I  could,  but  he  became 
very  abusive,  and  before  I  could  think  he  drew  his  knife  and 
was  in  the  act  of  making  a  plunge  at  me,  when  my  wife  in  her 
white  sleeping  gown  appeared  in  the  door,  thus  diverting  his 
attention,  which  gave  me  the  opportunity  of  grabbing  his  hand 
in  which  he  held  the  knife,  and  disarming  him.  I  was  his 
equal  then.  I  left  him  a  fit  subject  for  the  cemetery,  and 
threw  him  over  the  bluff.  Next  morning  he  crawled  up  and 
came  into  the  house,  and  I  assisted  him  to  perform  his  ablu- 
tions and  gave  him  a  good  breakfast.  We  parted  friends,  and 
were  friends  ever  thereafter.  Such  scenes  as  these  were  not 
infrequent  to  wives  and  mothers  of  the  pioneers  of  Minnesota. 

On  another  occasion,  by  appointment,  my  mother  and  my 
sister  and  her  husband  met  me  in  St.  Louis  on  their 
way  to  Minnesota  to  make  it  their  future  home.  I  had  been 
there  purchasing  my  spring  stock,  and  had  shipped  all  aboard 
the  steamer  Excelsior,  commanded  by  Capt.  James  Ward.  We 
reached  home,  all  well,  and  with  nothing  out  of  the  usual 
course  of  things  happening.  The  next  morning  after  our  ar- 
rival, my  brother-in-law  was  helping  to  open  a  crate  of  crock- 
ery ware- which  stood  in  the  stock  in  front  of  my  store,  and 
my  mother  and  sister  were  standing  upon  the  porch,  when  a 
band  of  Ojibway  Indians,  coming  down  Jackson  street,  made 
an  attack  upon  some  Sioux  Indians,  shooting  into  Forbes' 
store,  and  killing  one  squaw,  the  sister  of  Old  Bets,  You  all 
know  Isaac  P.  Wright.  He  is  a  particular  friend  of  mine,  but 
I  must  say  that,  in  his  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  he  sometimes 
deviates  from  veracity.  In  an  article  which  he  wrote  giving 
a  description  of  this  affair,  he  says:  "At  the  time  of  the  at- 
tack,  A.  L.  Larpenteur  was  opening  a  crate  of  crockery  ware 


374  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

and  had  his  hands  full  of  plates  and  dishes;  he  was  so  fright- 
ened that  he  let  them  fall  out  of  his  hands,  and  they  broke  all 
to  pieces,"  Now,  you  all  know  it  was  Wright  that  was  fright- 
ened, and  not  Larpenteur. 

Going  into  the  house,  my  sister  "roasted"  me  to  a  turn  for 
bringing  them  here  to  be  scalped,  and  for  some  time  they  were 
hard  to  be  conciliated.  Finally,  like  Claude  Melnotte  with 
Pauline  Deschapelles,  I  located  them  on  the  bank  of  Lake 
Como,  where  they  still  reside. 

HOSTILITIES  BETWEEN  THE   OJIBWAYS  AND  SIOUX. 

In  the  spring  of  1842,  the  year  before  I  came  here,  a  war 
party  of  Ojibway  Indians  made  an  attack  upon  Little  Crow's 
band  of  Sioux  at  Kaposia,  close  south  of  St.  Paul,  killing  some 
eighteen  or  twenty  of  their  best  soldiers.  They  came  from  the 
St.  Croix,  and  early  in  the  morning  of  the  attack  they  secreted 
their  men  in  ambush  along  the  coulie  just  below  the  present 
fish  hatchery,  where  the  old  poor  farm  used  to  be.  From  there 
at  early  dawn,  they  started  two  scouts  to  make  a  demonstra- 
tion on  the  village.  Before  they  reached  the  site  of  the  village, 
however,  they  came  upon  Francis  GammePs  house.  Two 
Sioux  squaws  were  hoeing  potatoes,  a  little  patch  of  which 
they  had  in  the  yard.  They  shot  and  scalped  the  poor  women, 
and  from  this  an  alarm  was  given.  The  Sioux  on  the  village 
side,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  immediately  started  as  many  as 
they  could  in  pursuit.  The  scouts  kept  in  sight,  but  at  suf- 
ficient distance  to  be  out  of  danger,  and  thus  led  the  Sioux 
completely  into  the  ambush,  when  the  fight  began,  and  eight- 
een of  the  Sioux  fell  at  the  first  fire.  Quite  a  number  of  the 
Ojibways  were  killed  outright,  and  some  of  the  wounded  were 
dispatched  afterwards  by  the  women  who  followed  in  the 
rear.  Old  Bets  told  me  that  she  dismembered  one.  He  was 
a  tough  fellow,  and,  her  hatchet  being  dull,  she  had  a  deal  of 
hard  work  before  she  could  accomplish  her  object  satisfac- 
torily. 

Three  years  previous  to  this  attack,  two  Ojibways,  hiding 
in  ambush,  near  Lake  Harriet,  had  killed  a  Sioux,  immediately 
after  many  hundred  Ojibways,  having  smoked  the  pipe  of 
peace  with  the  assembled  Sioux  at  Fort  Snelling,  had  de- 
parted northward  by  two  routes  for  their  homes.    The  Ojib- 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   ST.    PAUL,   1843-1898.  375 

ways  were,  therefore,  pursued  and  overtaken  by  the  Sioux, 
their  hereditary  enemies,  and  two  battles  were  fought,  one  in 
the  valley  of  the  Rum  river  and  the  other  at  Stillwater,  on 
the  ground  where  now  stands  our  state  penitentiary.  Mrs. 
Carli,  still  living,  the  sister  of  the  late  Joseph  R.  Brown,  told 
me  the  last  time  I  saw  her,  not  long  ago,  that  she  saw  the 
Stillwater  battle.  The  Sioux  were  victorious  in  both  those 
battles,  and,  having  taken  many  scalps,  returned  in  triumph. 

In  the  attack  against  Kaposia,  old  Bets'  brother  "Techa," 
called  Jim,  lost  his  leg.  It  was  broken  below  the  knee  and 
hung  by  a  fragment.  He  took  his  knife  and  cut  it  off  himself, 
and  thus  became  his  own  surgeon.  It  healed,  and  the  year 
following,  when  I  became  acquainted  with  him,  he  had  made 
himself^ a  wooden  leg  of  the  most  improved  style.  He  was 
known  to  the  later  settlers  as  "Peg-Leg  Jim."  Old  Bets'  old- 
est son,  Taopi,  who  long  afterward,  in  1862,  aided  to  save 
white  settlers  from  massacre,  and  became  one  of  General  Sib- 
ley's most  trusty  scouts,  was  also  wounded  in  this  fight, 
whence  he  received  this  name  (Taopi,  the  Wounded).  For  a 
long  time,  even  after  I  came  here,  the  excitement  in  regard  to 
this  raid  by  the  Ojibways  was  the  topic  of  almost  every  day's 
conversation,  and  an  Ojibway  Indian  was  supposed  to  be  hid- 
den behind  every  bush. 

THE    JACKSON    HOTEL,    WITH    AN   ANECDOTE. 

The  Northwestern  territory  began  about  this  time  to  at- 
tract more  or  less  attention  from  tourists,  and  Henry  Jack- 
son was  obliged  to  furnish  to  them  shelter  and  accommodation 
such  as  he  could  afford  from  the  scanty  means  he  had  at  hand. 
His  hospitality  soon  became  known,  and  there  were  at  all  times 
some  guests  stopping  at  his  caravansary.  About  this  time  there 
were  several  permanent  boarders  stopping  with  him:  W.  Gt. 
Carter,  a  cousin;  Thomas  Sloan,  a  stockman;  and  W.  Renfro,  a 
Virginian,  a  good  fellow,  who  had  wandered  out  west  to  get 
rid  of  society.  There  was  also  a  Mr.  Joseph  Hall,  a  native  of 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  a  carpenter  by  trade.  These  boarders, 
with  the  balance  of  us,  constituted  the  regular  household  of  the 
Jackson  Hotel. 

This  man  Hall,  poor  fellow,  was  about  half-witted,  and 
very  fond  of  the  society  of  ladies.    He  spent  all  his  earnings, 


376  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

on  the  arrival  of  every  boat,  and  on  other  occasions,  for  sweet- 
meats and  delicacies  with  which  to  treat  them,  all  of  which 
was  very  nice  and  commendable  in  him,  of  course;  but,  as 
there  must  be  always  some  bitter  with  the  sweet,  our  friend 
Eenfro,  being  considerable  of  a  wag,  thought  we  must  have 
a  little  fun  at  poor  HalPs  expense.  Consequently,  calling 
him  aside  one  day,  he  said:  "Yesterday,  while  taking  my 
usual  walk  out  on  the  road  leading  into  the  interior,  I  met  a 
couple  of  nice  girls.  They  inquired  of  me  if  I  knew  Mr. 
Joseph  Hall.  I  told  them  I  did.  They  told  me  they  were 
about  getting  up  a  suprise  party  for  Michel  LeClaire,  and  that 
they  would  require  your  assistance,  that  they  would  be  pleased 
to  meet  you  here  about  dusk  to-morrow  evening,  in  order  to 
make  the  necessary  preliminary  arrangement,  and  that  you 
should  be  sure  to  bring  a  friend  along." 

This  road  coincided  nearly  with  the  course  of  Jackson 
street.  It  extended  out  beyond  the  Dawson  residence,  and 
thence  on  toward  the  Rice  lakes,  being  an  old  road  of  the  Indi- 
ans, used  by  them  in  going  out  to  their  hunting  ground  every 
fall.  From  the  description  of  the  girls,  Hall  knew  them  at  once. 
Everything  being  arranged,  the  following  evening  four  fel- 
lows started  out  arrayed  in  war  paint,  blanket,  and  gun 
loaded  to  the  muzzle  with  blank  cartridges.  No.  1,  Henry 
Jackson,  was  stationed,  in  ambush,  on  the  extreme  outpost; 
No.  2,  William  Gr.  Carter,  was  stationed  about  200  yards  this 
way;  No.  3,  Thomas  Sloan,  was  stationed  about  200  yards 
farther  in;  No.  4,  Mr.  Blank,  was  stationed  nearer  in,  farthest 
from  the  enemy.  At  the  proper  time,  Mr.  Renfro,  with  Mr. 
Hall,  came  along,  earnestly  engaged  in  conversation,  passing 
the  concealed  pickets  all  right,  to  the  extreme  outpost,  pre- 
cisely where  the  girls  were  to  be.  All  at  once,  Jackson  rose 
up  out  of  the  brush,  articulating  some  Ojibway  word, 
blanket  over  his  shoulder,  and  fired  his  piece.  Eenfro  fell  to 
the  ground,  at  the  same  time  saying  "Hall,  save  yourself;  I 
am  killed."  The  poor  fellow  issued  a  yell  of  distress  and 
started  on  a  canter,  reaching  outpost  No.  2,  when  a  salute  was 
given  him,  and  another  quickly  from  No.  3,  and,  as  he  rushed 
past,  before  you  could  think,  No.  4  gave  him  the  coup  de 
grace.    Such  yelling  and  running  wTas  never  seen  nor  heard  of 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF   ST.    PAUL,   1843-1898.  377 

since.  He  made  his  way  to  what  was  known  later  as  the 
Baptist  hill.  An  Ojibway  half-breed,  Mr.  Pierre  Bottineau, 
lived  there,  and  at  that  very  time  a  ball  was  going  on  at  his 
house.  Mr.  Hall  made  his  way  there  and  gave  them  a  history 
of  his  woes,  saying  that  he  was  taking  a  walk  wTith  his  friend 
Benfro,  when  at  a  certain  point  of  the  road  they  were  fired 
upon  by  Ojibway  Indians,  that  his  friend  was  killed,  and  that 
he  escaped  by  a  miracle. 

The  ball  was  broken  up  for  awhile,  and  some  of  the  male 
portion  started  out  to  investigate,  taking  Hall  along.  They 
could  find  nothing,  and  thought  they  would  go  over  to  Jack- 
son's and  see  what  they  could  learn  there.  They  entered  his 
store,  which  was  also  the  bar  room,  sitting  room  and  every- 
thing else,  when  lo  and  behold,  the  dead  man  was  sitting  on 
the  counter  smoking  his  pipe,  with  the  other  fellows  alongside 
of  him,  apparently  unconscious  of  what  had  happened  with 
our  neighbors.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  a  good  joke  had 
been  played  on  someone,  and  for  a  time  the  half-breeds  were  a 
little  disposed  to  take  a  more  serious  view  of  the  situation.  But 
someone  suggested  thai  we  throw  oil  upon  the  troubled  waters, 
and  the  demijohn  was  passed  around.  All  then  adjourned  to 
the  domicile  of  neighbor  Bottineau,  and  the  ball  went  on 
again,  with  renewed  energy,  until  the  next  morning. 

Poor  Hall  became  a  victim  of  the  Sioux  outbreak,  as  I 
have  since  learned;  and  in  regard  to  Benfro  we  must  record 
that  the  poor  fellow's  career  ended  not  less  unhappily.  He 
was  a  gentleman  of  refinement,  but,  unfortunately,  became 
too  fond  of  his  cups,  and  I  believe  that  for  that  reason  he 
came  out  here  to  try  to  overcome  this  habit.  But  it  was  the 
worst  place  he  could  have  come  to.  Edward  Phelan,  or  Phalen, 
from  whom  lake  Phalen  derived  its  name,  had  his  shack  not 
far  from  where  the  palatial  residence  of  William  Hamm  now 
stands;  and  when  Benfro  would  have  one  of  his  spells  come 
upon  him,  he  would  hie  himself  off  to  Phelan's,  and  there  re- 
main until  he  recovered.  On  one  of  these  occasions  he  rose 
in  the  night  and  slipped  away  from  Phelan's  with  nothing  on 
but  his  drawers.  It  was  in  winter,  with  snow  on  the  ground, 
and  Phelan  gave  us  the  alarm  the  next  morning.  It  having 
snowed  a  little  during  the  night,  he  could  not  track  him.  Hence, 


378  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

when  be  came  in  and  told  us  of  the  circumstance,  we  all  started 
out  for  a  systematic  search.  I  found  him  lying  at  full  length, 
frozen  stiff,  not  far  from  where  is  situated  to-day  the  Van 
Slyke  Court.  We  buried  him  at  the  head  of  Jackson  street. 
May  his  soul  rest  in  peace.  He  was  a  good  fellow,  of  a  kind 
disposition,  but  a  victim  to  a  morbid  appetite.  A  lesson- 
but,  alas,  learned  too  late  by  many. 

FIRST   SURVEYS  ,AND   LAND   CLAIMS. 

In  1847  we  laid  out  the  original  town  plat  of  St.  Paul, 
having  to  send  to  Prairie  du  Ohien  for  a  surveyor,  Mr.  Ira  B. 
Branson,  for  that  purpose.  The  plat  contained  about  a  half  mile 
square,  bounded  by  Wacouta,  Eighth  and  St.  Peter  streets, 
and  the  river  to  the  point  of  beginning.  The  present  Jackson 
street  was  the  only  accessible  way  to  the  river,  and  it  was 
very  steep.  We  drew  our  goods  up  on  a  sled,  a  forked  tree 
with  a  piece  bolted  across  the  end,  the  stem  used  for  the 
tongue,  such  as  the  farmers  in  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania 
used  to  draw  rock  out  of  their  fields.  With  this  implement 
Mr.  Vital  Guerin  hauled  up  all  our  goods  from  the  landing  with 
his  yoke  of  oxen.  A  barrel  of  whisky  or  flour  made  a  good 
load.  Such  was  Jackson  street  when  I  first  saw  it.  From  this 
date  our  city  began  to  be  known  by  the  outside  world,  and  im- 
migrants began  to  come  in. 

The  United  States  government  soon  subdivided  the  lands, 
and  a  land  office  was  established  at  St.  Croix  Falls.  We  were 
all  in  Wisconsin  yet,  and  General  H.  H.  Sibley,  Capt.  Louis 
Robert  and  myself  were  selected  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  to  enter  all  these  lands  upon  which  the  original  plat  was 
laid  out,  as  well  as  lands  adjoining,  and  then  to  re-convey  to 
the  various  parties  interested  their  respective  pieces.  We 
were  all  called  squatters.  Many  lots  had  been  sold,  and  after 
title  had  been  obtained  from  the  government,  it  was  necessary 
to  re-convey  and  perfect  these  titles,  all  of  which  was  subse- 
quently satisfactorily  done.  We  anticipated  some  trouble  at 
the  land  sale  from  speculators,  who  usually  attend  these  sales 
for  the  purpose  of  outbidding  the  settlers.  To  provide  against 
a  contingency  of  this  kind  and  to  protect  the  rights  of  the 
boys,  we  provided  ourselves  with  a  brigade  of  old!  fellows, 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   ST.   PAUL,   1843-1898.  379 

some  dozen  or  more,  and  they  carefully  guarded  our  tents 
while  we  wTent  to  attend  the  sales.  General  Samuel  Leech  was 
the  receiver,  Col.  O.  S.  Whitney  the  register,  and  B.  W.  Lott 
the  crier.  All  being  ready,  the  business  began.  There  were 
quite  a  number  of  bidders.  When  our  pieces  were  called,  we 
bid  them  in,  and  everything  passed  off  in  good  shape;  but  I 
assure  you,  gentlemen,  had  any  poor  fellow  attempted  to  put 
his  finger  in  our  pie,  he  would  have  heard  something  drop. 

ORGANIZATION  AND   GROWTH     OF  MINNESOTA  TERRITORY. 

On  our  return  from  the  land  sale,  we  held  a  convention 
at  Stillwater.  The  State  of  Wisconsin  had  previously  been 
organized,  and  left  us  with  a  portion  of  her  territory.  At  that 
convention  we  petitioned  Congress  to  grant  us  a  territorial 
organization.  Our  prayers  were  heard,  and  G-en.  H.  H.  Sibley, 
after  a  hard  fight,  was  admitted  as  our  delegate,  and  the 
Territory  of  Minnesota  was  organized.  From  that  date  immi- 
gration poured  in  upon  us  from  all  quarters. 

I  have  seen  sixteen  large  steamers  lying  at  our  levee  at 
one  time.  One  day  I  counted  sixty  carpenters'  tool  chests  be- 
ing unloaded  from  the  boats  then  in  port.  The  rush  then  for 
this  new  Eldorado  was  nearly  like  the  great  tide  of  gold- 
seekers  who  went  to  California  during  the  same  years,  from 
1849  onward.  Some  learned  wisdom,  and  stayed  with  us; 
others  left  for  other  parts.  Many  valuable  and  influential 
citizens  came  into  the  territory  at  this  time.  Our  agricultural 
resources  began  to  develop,  and  we  were  soon  becoming  self- 
sustaining,  and  it  was  not  necessary  any  longer  to  import  all 
our  food.  Trade  with  the  settlers  began  to  be  of  as  much  im- 
portance nearly  as  with  the  Indians,  and  we  were  obliged  to 
diversify  our  stocks.  An  occasional  silk  dress  was  required, 
or  a  fashionable  bonnet. 

EXPERIENCES  OP  THE  EARLY  TRADERS. 

In  the  spring  of  1848,  William  Hartshorn  had  sold  out  his 
interest  to  his  clerks,  D.  B.  Freeman,  Augustus  J.  Freeman, 
A.  L.  Larpenteur,  and  William  H.  Randall,  Jr.,  who  formed 
the  firm  of  Freeman,  Larpenteur  &  Co.  We  removed  our 
stock  into  our  new  building,  begun  by  Mr.  Hartshorn,  and 


380  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

finished  by  the  new  firm.  This  was  situated  on  the  corner  of 
Jackson  and  Second  streets.  The  building  was  used  later  by 
William  Constant  and  finally  came  into  the  hands  of  the 
Milwaukee  railroad  company,  and  was  used  by  them  for  a 
baggage  room  until  torn  down.  When  it  was  built  this  was 
the  first  building  on  this  side  of  Prairie  du  Chien.  We  kept 
our  dry  goods  in  the  second  story,  the  groceries  in  the  base- 
ment. A  nice  convenient  platform  for  the  second  story  was 
reached  by  huge  steps,  and  steps  ascended  also  to  the  top  of 
the  bluff  at  Bench  street,  leading  up  town  past  the  Central 
House  and  uniting  with  Third  street  at  Wabasha. 

Before  I  proceed  any  farther,  a  little  circumstance  presents 
itself  to  my  mind,  which  perhaps  right  here  is  as  good  a  place 
to  mention  as  I  may  find.  One  of  my  partners,  Mr.  A.  J.  Free- 
man, had  rather  an  aggressive  disposition;  if  there  was  any- 
thing going  on,  he  was  sure  to  be  in  it.  One  morning  I  was  in 
our  office,  quietly  attending  to  my  business.  Freeman  was  be- 
hind the  counter  waiting  upon  some  customers,  when  lo  and 
behold,  the  Hon.  William  D.  Phillips,  a  notorious  attorney  at 
law,  came  into  the  store,  and,  before  you  could  think,  he  had 
a  pistol  out  of  his  pocket  and  pointing  at  Freeman's  breast, 
saying  at  the  same  time,  "Retract,  or  I  will  put  a  hole  through 
you.77  In  an  instant,  I  picked  up  a  fire  poker  and  flew  be- 
tween them,  saying,  "Up  with  that  pistol,  or  I'll  brain  you." 
The  pistol  went  up,  and  peace  was  proclaimed.  The  pistol  was 
one  of  those  single-barreled  shooting  irons  of  the  Derringer 
style,  and  was  loaded  to  the  muzzle.  I  remember  now  seeing 
the  paper  wad  sticking  out.  Our  attorney  left  here  shortly 
after  that,  and  I  think  removed  to  Washington,  D.  0. 

In  the  spring  of  1849  St  Paul  began  to  assume  cosmopoli- 
tan importance.  James  M.  Goodhue  came  among  us  with  his 
oracle,  The  Pioneer.  I  have  in  my  scrap-book  the  veritable 
first  number  stricken  off.  The  office  was  just  above  us,  and  in 
0.  P.  V.  Lull's  shop.  Its  date  was  Saturday,  April  28th,  1849. 
I  find,  upon  looking  over  the  directory  therein  contained  of 
the  business  and  professional  houses  and  firms,  that  but  few 
are  left. 

I  would  like  to  record  here  the  names  and  firms  and  dif- 
ferent advertisements  of  that  day.    They  were  up  and  doing, 


^COLLECTIONS   OF   ST.   PAUL,   1843-1898.  3gl 

but  it  would  require  too  much  space  and  time.  One,  for  in- 
stance: "Horse  Mantua-Maker,  A.  R.  French,  on  Third  street, 
in  St.  Paul,  is  prepared  to  make  and  furnish  Saddles,  Harness, 
&e."  Freeman,  Larpenteur  &  Co.  were  wholesaling,  and  car- 
ried stock  to  suit  the  trade,  quality  and  quantity,  viz.,  50  bar- 
rels of  old  rectified  whisky,  20  barrels  of  sugar-house  mo- 
lasses, 15  boxes  of  cheese,  etc.,  etc.  Readers  don't  see  that  they 
dealt  in  flour.  Perhaps  that  was  taken  for  granted.  How- 
ever, be  that  as  it  may,  we  did  our  share,  and  our  future 
seemed  sublime. 

The  Winnebago  Indians  had  been  moved  to  Long  Prairie 
the  year  before,  and  that  event  brought  a  deal  of  new  busi- 
ness into  the  country.  I  had  been  accustomed  tjo  making  trips 
every  winter,  and  as  soon  as  the  sleighing  became  good  I 
suggested  to  our  firm  that  we  load  a  couple  of  teams  and 
make  the  rounds.  I  expected  nothing  different  but  that  I 
should  be  selected  to  go;  but  Mr.  A.  J.  Freeman  thought  it 
best  that  he  should  go,  because  he  knew  Gen.  J.  E.  Fletcher, 
the  agent,  Sylvanus  B.  Lowry,  the  interpreter,  and  Charles 
Rice  and  N.  Myrick,  Jim  Reatty,  Marsh,  and  White,  etc.,  all 
right.  We  selected  a  nice  assortment  of  just  such  goods  as 
we  supposed  would  be  wanted,  and  started  my  boy  off  in 
good  shape  with  two  teams.  He  reached  Long  Prairie  in  due 
time,  sold  all  his  stock,  amounting  to  about  $1,500,  had  a 
good  time  with  these  friendly  traders,  was  well  entertained 
(as  no  one  knows  better  how  to  entertain  than  one  of  these 
old  Indian  traders),  and  started  on  his  way  home  without  a 
cent!  He  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Philistines,  and 
they  had  fleeced  him.  Arriving  at  Swan  River,  he  stopped 
over  night,  and  a  streak  of  luck  struck  him,  and  he  left  for 
home  in  the  morning  with  $1,200  of  money.  So,  upon  his  return, 
in  footing  up  the  cash,  he  could  not  account  for  $300,  all  of 
which  we  charged  up  to  "suspense"  account. 

A  few  weeks  later,  I  told  the  firm,  it  being  a  little  dull, 
that  I  thought  I  would  take  a  trip  and  see  what  I  could  do. 
I  picked  out  a  nice  assortment  of  goods,  such  as  I  deemed 
would  be  wanted  about  that  time,  and  started  with  two  teams, 
driving  one  myself.  I  reached  Long  Prairie  in  due  time,  put 
up  my  teams,  was  treated  royally  by  the  agent,  Gen.  Fletcher, 


382  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

and  others,  sold  a  portion  of  my  goods,  and  made  arrangements 
for  leaving  early  the  next  morning.  During  the  evening  I  made 
several  visits,  and  found  all  very  much  interested  in  making 
the  time  pass  off  agreeably  for  me.  Finding  that  I  did  not 
take,  one  of  my  friends  said  to  me,  "Why,  you  are  not  like 
your  partner;  he  left  $1,500  with  the  boys  when  he  was  up 
here."  I  then  began  to  get  upon  the  track  of  the  shortage, 
and  on  my  way  back,  at  Swan  River,  I  learned  of  his  "luck," 
and  concluded  that,  had  there  been  more  money  in  the  pot, 
he  might  have  made  his  shortage  good.  So<?  when  I  returned, 
I  called  Mr.  Freeman  to  one  side  and  told  him  to  charge  his 
private  account  with  the  shortage  of  $300,  as  I  had  found  out 
all  about  it;  and  in  the  following  fall  and  early  winter  the 
firm  of  Freeman,  Larpenteur  &  Co.  ceased  to  exist.  I  sold  it 
out  to  John  Randall  &  Co.,  of  New  York;  and,  one  of  the  Free- 
mans  having  died,  A.  J.  took  his  portion  and  opened  a  place 
of  business  at  Rice  Creek,  and  in  about  one  year  he  closed 
that  out,  removed  east,  and  died.  I  agreed  to  remain  with  the 
new  firm  until  spring,  and  did  so. 

In  the  meantime  I  had  made  arrangements  to  build  me 
a  store  on  the  lot  adjoining  my  little  dwelling,  on  the  corner  of 
Jackson  and  Third  streets.  This  was  the  second  frame  house 
built  in  St.  Paul.  The  first,  which  had  burned  down,  was 
built  by  Captain  Louis  Robert,  a  little  earlier.  The  lot  above 
referred  to  was  what  subsequently  became  lot  14,  block  26, 
St.  Paul  Proper,  which  I  bought  of  David  Faribaiilt,  as  a  claim, 
for  $62.50  in  a  horse  trade.  The  building  now  occupying  it  m 
known  as  the  Hale  Block.  I  had  a  horse  which  Mr.  Faribault  * 
wanted.  He  had  a  140-foot  claim  at  this  point.  My  price  for 
the  horse  was  $80;  the  price  of  his  claim  was  $125.  He  urged 
me  to  take  the  whole  claim  and  pay  him  the  balance  when 
convenient,  but  I  dared  not  then  assume  such  an  obligation. 
Consequently,  I  only  took  half  of  the  lot  and  trusted  him  for 
the  balance,  $17.50,  and  I  believe  I  was  two  years  in  collecting 
it,  if  at  all. 

I  built  my  palatial  dwelling  upon  this  lot,  Which  after- 
wards became  the  "Hotel  Wild  Hunter"  ("Zum  Wilden  Jager"). 
The  work  was  done  by  Aaron  Foster  (who  married  one  of  the 
widow  Mortimer's  girls),  J.  Warren  Woodbury,  and  Jesse  H. 


KECOLLECTIONS   OF   ST.   PAUL,   1843-1898.  ggg 

Pomroy.  The  latter  is  still  alive  and  with  us;  the  other  two 
are  dead.  The  painting  was  done  by  James  McBoal,  one  of 
the  best  and  laziest  mortals  that  ever  lived. 

RELATIVES  COME  TO  ST.   PAUL. 

Times  had  not  improved  much  in  St  Louis  and  the  West, 
and  my  uncle  Eugene,  whom  I  left  in  that  city,  being  dis- 
couraged by  losing  what  little  money  he  possessed,  returned 
to  Baltimore  in  1845,  and  took  charge  again  of  the  old  Pimlico 
farm.  My  grandfather  who  was  then  beginning  to  feel  the 
weight  of  years  upon  him,  welcomed  him  back.  My  uncle  was 
a  thorough  agriculturist,  and  as  I  had  had  eighteen  years'  ex- 
perience myself  in  that  vocation,  when  the  agricultural  ad- 
vantages here  began  to  develop,  I  wrote  to  him,  giving  my 
opinion  and  advising  him  to  come  out  here  and  locate  upon 
some  of  these  lands  while  they  were  cheap,  and  that  I  had 
selected  a  tract  which  he  could  have  if  he  wished. 

He  showed  my  letter  to  my  grandfather,  who  said:  "You 
have  beem  west  once,  and  came  back  disappointed.  Drop 
the  idea,  and  I  will  deed  you  one^half  of  this  farm."  He  said, 
"Father,  if  you  deed  me  half  of  this  farm  to-day,  I  will  sell 
it  to-morrow;  I  am  going  West  where  that  boy  is  just  ais  soon 
as  J  can  raise  the  money  to  go  with."  "Well,  if  that  is  your 
intention,  advertise  the  place,  we  will  sell  it,  and  I  will  go 
with  you."  The  place  was  sold.  This  was  the  spring  of  1849. 
The  cholera  was  very  bad  that  year  all  over  the  West,  and 
especially  in  St.  Louis.  While  transferring  from  one  boat  to 
another  in  St.  Louis,  my  grandfather  met  some  old  acquaint- 
ance upon  the  levee,  and  this  good  friend  was  careful  in  ad- 
monishing my  poor  old  grandfather,  telling  him  not  by  any 
means  to  go  up  into  the  city,  as  they  were  dying  at  the  rate 
of  live  hundred  a  day.  The  good  old  man,  having  been  suf- 
fering for  years  from  chronic  diarrhea,  fell  down  on  the  pave- 
ment and  had  to  be  carried  on  board  the  boat.  He  never 
arose  again.  He  managed  to  live,  however,  until  he  reached 
St.  Paul,  when  he  died  on;  the  third  day,  fully  conscious  to 
the  last.  We  buried  him,  not  having  a  cemetery  at  that  time, 
at  the  head  of  Jackson  street,  near  Tenth  street.    In  course 


384  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

of  time,  Jackson  street  was  to  be  graded.  We  removed  his 
remains  to  a  cemetery  back  of  St.  Joseph's  Academy.  After- 
ward, when  Iglehart  street  was  opened  and  graded,  his  re- 
mains had  to  be  removed  again,  and  now  they  lie  in  peace,  we 
hope,  in  Calvary  cemetery.  Thus  we  had  the  gratification, 
at  least,  of  paying  a  portion  of  the  debt  we  owed  to  that  good 
old  soul  for  the  care  of  me  when  left  without  a  mother. 

Shortly  after  the  obsequies  I  took  my  uncle  to  view  the 
country  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  location.  I  showed  him 
the  tract  which  I  had  selected  as  one  which  suited  me.  That 
was  the  present  Kittsondale  or  Midway,  as  it  is  called  today. 
It  suited  him.  He  developed  it  and  made  a  garden  of  the 
spot.  Upon  it  he  reared  his  family,  all  respectable  citizens, 
and  both  he  and  his  good  wife  have  long  since  gone  to  their 
reward.    "Kequiescant  in  pace." 

TREATIES  WITH  THE   SIOUX. 

The  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi,  obtained  of  the  Sioux 
Indians  by  the  treaty  of  1837  and  opened  for  settlement,  were 
being  taken  up  so  fast  that  it  became  necessary  for  the  gov- 
ernment, through  the  urgency  of  the  settlers  and  specula- 
tors, to  acquire  the  lands  on  the  west  side.  Hence  the  treaty 
of  Mendota,  August  5th,  1851.  Although  the  previous  treaty 
had  been  made  and  duly  signed,  it  was  not  satisfactory.  The 
Indians  claimed  that  when  ceding  their  lands  in  1837,  east  of 
the  Mississippi  river,  they  had  retained  the  privilege  of  hunt- 
ing upon  these  lands  for  fifty  years,  or  during  good  behavior, 
all  of  which  I  fully  believe  to  be  true,  neither  party  thinking 
then  that  it  would  be  unsafe  to  make  such  an  agreement.  No 
one  would  have  thought  that  before  the  expiration  of  that 
time  the  territory  would  contain  more  than  a  million  inhab- 
itants and  have  a  valuation  of  several  hundred  million  dollars 
of  taxable  property. 

The  Mendota  treaty  became  an  absolute  necessity.  By 
that  treaty,  and  by  the  slightly  earlier  treaty  of  Traverse  des 
Sioux,  made  July  23d,  1851,  the  several  Sioux  bands  of  south- 
ern Minnesota  ceded  to  the  government  nearly  all  their  lands 
in  this  state  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  were  removed 
jto  reservations  on  the  upper  part  of  the  Minnesota  river.  Two 


RECOLLECTIONS   OP   ST.    PAUL,    1S43-1S98.  gQ5 

agencies  were  established,  one  about  eight  miles  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Redwood  river,  and  the  other  on  the  Yellow 
Medicine  river.  There  being  more  or  less  dissatisfaction 
among  these  Indians,  when  the  Civil  War  broke  out,  it  took 
but  little  to  kindle  the  fire  of  rebellion  among  them.  The 
massacre  of  1862  took  place,  and  history  is  replete  with  its 
consequences. 

TRADE  WITH  THE  PAR  NORTHWEST. 

After  the  removal  of  the  Indians  from  Mendota  in  the  year 
1852,  their  direct  trade  with  St  Paul  ceased;  but  it  always 
remained  the  headquarters  for  outfitting  traders  for  the  va- 
rious adjacent  tribes.  This  trade  extended  even  into  Mani- 
toba, and  in  that  direction  was  of  great  importance.  It  was 
no  uncommon  sight  to  see  from  a  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred 
carts  encamped  around  "Larpenteur's  lake,"  in  the  western 
part  of  our  present  city  area,  loaded  with  buffalo  robes,  furs 
of  all  descriptions,  dressed  skins,  moccasins,  buffalo  tongues 
and  pemican.  The  latter  commodity  was  dried  buffalo  meat 
pounded  and  put  up  in  100-pound  sacks,  for  their  winter  use. 
It  was  their  chief  supply  of  food,  and  was  husbanded  with  the 
same  care  by  these  old  hunters  as  a  farmer  gives  to  his  corn. 
A  failure  in  the  gathering  of  this  crop  of  buffalo  meat  by  the 
hunters,  sometimes  caused  by  the  buffalo  being  scarce  or 
driven  in  other  directions,  was  as  serious  a  matter  to  the  in- 
habitants as  the  destruction  of  a  farmer's  wheat  crop  by  hail 
storm.  A  voyageur,  when  sent  out  by  the  traders,  was  seldom 
given  anything  else  to  subsist  upon  but  a  hunk  of  this  pemican 
for  his  daily  ration.  And  in  conversation  with  these  old  voy- 
ageur-s,  many  of  thfem  old  employees  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany, I  have  been  told  that  their  daily  rations  often  were  no 
more  nor  less  than  one  load  of  powder  and  ball  per  day,  and 
that,  being  in  a  country  where  game  was  in  abundance,  they 
seldom  went  without  a  meal.  These  traders  would  reach  here 
about  the  first  of  June,  having  left  Fort  Garry,  now  Winnipeg, 
as  soon  as  the  grass  had  grown  sufficiently  for  their  cattle  to 
feed  upon;  and,  in  returning,  they  would  get  back  about  the 
middle  of  September. 

25 


3Q6  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

GAME,  AND  ITS  DECREASE. 

Game  was  plentiful  in  those  days.  A  poor  man  even  with 
an  old  flint-lock  gun  and  black  powder  could  decorate  his  table 
once  in  a  while  with  a  duck,  goose,  or  a  piece  of  venison;  but 
to-day,  alas,  where  are  we  drifting?  All  are  preserves.  The 
Island  pass,  the  Rondo  pass,  the  Baldwin  pass,  all  are  fenced 
in  and  belong  to  the  powers.  The  poor  man  is  not  in  it  any 
more.  We,  who  have  been  piling  abuses  upon  our  cousins 
across  the  big  pond,  are  we  not  getting  there,  too?  The  con- 
sequences are  rapidly  being  felt.  To  me,  it  matters  but  little. 
My  race  is  nearly  run.  But  I  cannot  help  looking  back,  and 
comparing  the  difference  in  the  times;  we  had  the  cream,  you 
are  fighting  for  the  skimmings.  Oh,  could  you  but  realize  the 
days  your  ancestors  enjoyed  upon  these  grounds  you  are  now 
preserving,  when  Sibley,  Faribault,  Robert  and  Larpenteur 
were  taking  an  evening  shoot  at  the  Island  pass,  when  Louis 
Robert  would  cry  out  at  every  falling  duck,  "Hie,  hie,  don't 
shoot!  That's  mine!"  Then  there  was  fun  all  along  the  line.  It 
didn't  matter  much  anyway.  There  was  enough  for  all,  and 
for  the  Indians  besides.  There  was  sport  then;  'tis  labor 
now. 

STEAMBOAT    TRAVEL,    FREIGHTING,    AND    ADVENTURES. 

Not  having  any  railroad  communication  in  those  days, 
when  all  traffic  depended  upon  the  river,  we  sometimes  ran 
down  to  Galena  or  Dubuque  in  the  autumn  to  "stock  up,"  be- 
cause once  the  navigation  closed  we  were  in  for  all  winter. 
Getting  goods  up  by  sleighs  was  rather  expensive.  In  the 
fall  of  1856  I  found  I  needed  a  few  more  goods  to  carry  me 
through  the  winter.  Consequently,  I  ran  down  to  Galena, 
bought  what  I  needed,  and  found  Capt.  Louis  Robert  in  port 
on  his  way  up  from  St.  Louis  with  his  boat,  "The  Greek  Slave." 
I  had  shipped  my  goods  upon  his  boat,  and  w&s  all  ready  for 
home,  when,  behold,  the  crew  struck.  His  engineer,  Bill 
Davis,  who  was  his  nephew,  was  all  right;  his  pilot,  George 
Nicholas,  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  on  the  river,  was  all  right. 
Monti,  the  mate,  an  old  veteran  of  the  Mexican  war,  was  all 
right  also,  but  the  others  of  the  crew  wanted  guaranties  that, 
in  case  of  a  freeze-up,  they  would  be  returned  to  their  homes 
free  of  expense. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   ST.   PAUL,    1843-1898.  337 

Here  was  a  dilemma.  The  captain  wished  to  reach  St. 
Paul  with  his  boat  so  as  to  lay  her  up  there  all  winter.  It 
was  then  about  the  first  of  November.  Something  had  to  be 
done.  Outside  of  the  parties  above  named,  only  one  cabin 
boy  and  the  chambermaid  remained.  She  called  the  boy  to 
her,  saying  "Tom,  go  up  town,  tell  Mike  to  come  down  at  once 
and  be  steward  of  this  boat,  and  if  he  refuses,  tell  him  the 
first  time  I  meet  him  I  will  cut  his  throat  from  ear  to  ear." 
Mike  came  down.  With  what  we  could  pick  up  we  started 
out  for  St.  Paul,  reached  Dubuque  all  right,  had  a  barge  in 
tow  when  we  started,  and  took  on  another  at  Guttenberg,  also 
some  cattle.  The  crew  getting  pretty  well  used  up,  the  second 
morning  out  found  us  on  a  bar  about  five  miles  below  Winona. 
There  wTe  lay  until  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Work- 
ing all  day,  the  pilot,  engineer,  mate  and  captain  all  exhausted, 
I  began  to  believe  and  think  we  were  planted  on  that  bar  for 
the  winter. 

Picking  up  courage,  I  stepped  to  the  captain  and  addressed 
him  thus:  "Captain,  you  are  sick,  and  need  help.  Give  me 
your  overshoes  and  overcoat  and  command  of  this  boat,  and 
I  will  see  her  through  to  St.  Paul."  The  captain  made  a  com- 
plete resignation.  He  said,  "Larpenteur,  take  her."  The 
man,  as  well  as  his  crew,  was  exhausted,  and  had  lost  self- 
control.  I  put  the  captain  to  bed,  took  charge  of  the  boat, 
set  my  spars,  kept  what  I  got,  and  with  capstan  and  a  few 
revolutions  on  the  starboard  wheel  she  yielded,  and,  from  the 
time  I  took  the  boat,  in  a  half  hour  I  was  at  Winona.  I  told 
the  boys  to  be  patient.  Seven  miles  above  was  Fountain  City. 
It  was  yet  light,  and  we  would  make  that  point,  when  I  would 
put  them  to  bed.  We  reached  that  point  while  yet  twilight 
I  made  all  I  could  spare  turn  in,  telling  them  that  I  would 
have  them  waked  up  at  midnight,  thus  giving  them  about  six 
hours'  sleep. 

A  barge  was  to  be  left  at  this  point,  upon  which  there 
were  some  cattle.  They  were  to  be  put  upon  the  boat.  All 
things  being  ready,  I  began  the  transfer  of  my  cattle.  The 
poor  things  had  been  abused,  and  were  afraid  for  their  lives, 
but  all  went  well  enough  in  transferring  except  an  old  bull. 


388  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

He  had  been  pounded  over  the  head  till  he  scarcely  dared  to 
move  one  way  or  the  other.  However,  he  was  finally  induced 
to  step  upon  the  staging,  and  there  he  stood  neither  willing  to 
go  one  way  nor  the  other.  Finally  I  told  one  of  the  men  to 
bring  me  some  ear  corn.  I  gave  him  one  ear  and  patted  him 
at  the  same  time  on  the  head  and  shoulder  and  offered  him 
another  ear,  at  the  same  time  commanding  the  men  to  keep 
perfectly  quiet.  He  approached  that  ear  and  took  it,  and 
with  about  four  ears  of  corn  I  landed  my  refractory  bull 
aboard  of  my  boat,  amid  the  cheers  of  my  deck  hands,  thus 
showing  that  kind  acts  are  appreciated  and  have  their  re- 
ward by  a  dumb  animal  as  well  as  a  human  being. 

I  had  all  on  board  then  turn  in  except  the  watchman.  At 
midnight,  all  refreshed,  I  had  steam  ready,  some  hot  coffee 
and  lunch,  called  every  man  to  his  post,  and  stood  on  the 
hurricane  deck  the  balance  of  that  night.  We  landed  in  Still- 
water about  three  o'clock  the  following  afternoon.  I  had  a 
horse  on  board  of  the  boat  and  a  saddle,  and  an  idea  struck 
me  that  I  could  reach  St.  Paul  quicker  on  horseback  than  by 
boat,  so  I  called  the  captain  up.  That  was  about  twenty-four 
hours  from  the  time  I  had  put  him  to  bed,  and  he  was  sleep- 
ing yet.  I  awoke  him,  delivered  my  charge  back  to  him  again, 
took  my  horse,  and  near  the  setting  of  the  sun  was  at  home 
with  my  family.  The  boat  got  in  next  morning  and  laid  off 
for  all  winter. 

In  taking  a  retrospective  view  of  those  times,  it  makes  one 
feel  sad.  What  has  become  of  those  palatial  steamers,  the 
masters  of  which  trod  their  decks  with  pride,  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  their  ability  to  meet  all  responsibilities?  Then  the 
pilot — why,  he  was  looked  upon  as  endowed  with  supernatural 
powers!  Indeed,  it  would  seem  so;  for  in  those  days  there 
were  no  beacon  lights  around  the  bends,  as  to-day;  all  he  had 
to  guide  him  was  instinct,  and  it  was  a  pleasure  to  see  such 
men  as  Wash  Highs,  Billy  Cupps,  Pleasant  Cormack,  Pete  Lin- 
dall,  John  King,  George  Nicholas,  and  others,  handle  the 
wheel  of  a  dark  night.  What  has  become  of  all  this?  Our 
poor  Mississippi  river,  are  you  going  to  dry  up?    It  makes 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF   ST.    PAUL,    1843-1898.  QQQ 

one  who  has  seen  her  drain  the  product  of  this  great  valley 
from  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  to  the  balizes  that  guide  the 
pilot  coming  in  from  the  sea,  feel  that  he  has  lost  a  friend. 

In  those  days,  you  boarded  a  steamer  in  St.  Paul  for  St. 
Louis,  for  instance.  The  cost  of  passage,  including  meals, 
was  $10.  You  were  four  days  making  the  trip,  giving  you 
plenty  of  time  to  get  acquainted  with  your  fellow  passengers, 
and  a  wholesome  rest  from  your  arduous  labors,  if  you  had 
any,  besides  the  recreation.  To-day,  how  is  it?  You  have 
scarcely  time  to  recognize  any  one  on  board  but  the  con- 
ductor, and  we  are  driven  at  such  lightning  speed  that  many 
of  us  are  landed  in  an  insane  asylum,  and  the  word  is  "get 
out  of  the  way  or  you  will  be  run  over." 

The  masters  of  our  steamers  in  those  days,  were  every  one 
of  them  a  Dewey  or  a  Schley.  There  were  few  strikes  in  those 
days.  The  malcontents,  if  any  there  were,  were  afraid.  They 
would  say  "If  wre  kick,  why,  the  old  man  will  take  the  wheel 
or  the  engine  himself,  for  he  can  run  it  as  well  as  I  can." 
Hence,  they  would  put  up  with  the  ills  they  had  rather  than  to 
fly  to  those  they  knew  not  of.  These  captains  when  treading 
their  decks  were  the  envy  of  us  all,  and  with  pleasant  recol- 
lections we  refer  back  to  our  friend  and  fellow  old  settler, 
Capt.  Eussell  Blakeley,  of  the  "Dr.  Franklin/'  whom  we  still 
have  with  us;  Capt  D.  S.  Harris,  of  the  "War  Eagle;"  Capt. 
Orren  Smith,  of  the  "Nominee;"  Capt.  James  Ward,  of  the 
"Excelsior;"  Tom  Rhodes,  of  the  "Metropolitan;"  Capt.  Dick 
Qray,  of  the  "Denmark,"  with  calliope  attachments ;  and  John 
Atchison,  the  captain  of  the  "Highland  Mary." 

I  was  on  board  when  Capt.  John  Atchison  died.  I  hap- 
pened to  be  in  St.  Louis  in  the  spring  of  1849.  I  had  com- 
pleted my  purchases  and  shipped  all  my  goods  on  board  of 
his  boat,  which  was  to  leave  in  the  morning.  I  was  stopping 
at  the  Virginia  Hotel.  About  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  I 
was  sitting  in  the  rotunda  of  the  hotel,  when  Capt.  John  came 
in.  I  asked  him  about  the  time  of  leaving;  he  said,  "Early 
in  the  morning."  I  told  him  I  was  ready,  having  shipped  all 
my  goods,  and  would  be  with  him.  He  said  to  me,  "Larpen- 
teur,  I  feel  a  little  lonesome;    come  on  board  now."    I  set- 


390  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL,   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

tied  my  bill,  and,  after  we  had  walked  down  to  the  boat  to- 
gether, I  drank  a  mint  julep  and  smoked  a  cigar  with  him. 
Both  of  us  retired  in  apparent  good  health  as  ever,  about 
eleven  o'clock.  At  four  o'clock  the  following  morning  he  was 
dead.  Cholera  was  very  fatal  that  season.  His  brother, 
Pierce  Atchison,  brought  the  boat  up.  I  could  enumerate 
many  of  these  old  Mississippi  river  steamboat  captains  whose 
memory  it  is  a  pleasure  to  recall.  All  of  them  were  noble, 
generous  men,  and  they  all  did  their  part  in  developing  the 
resources  of  the  great  Northwest. 

One  I  had  almost  forgotten,  Captain  Monfort,  renowned 
for  the  Indian  flute.  Did  anyone  board  his  boat  and  possess 
the  least  bit  of  curiosity,  he  was  sure  to  remember  his  In- 
dian flute.  It  was  an  instrument  about  one  foot  long,  deco- 
rated with  Indian  hieroglyphics  and  filled  with  flour,  and  when 
played  upon  it  would  fill  the  operator's  eyes  and  face  full,  to 
his  utter  amazement  and  to  the  gratification  of  the  initiated. 
Some  would  take  the  joke  philosophically,  and  settle  the  ques- 
tion at  the  bar.  Others,  a  little  more  sensitive,  would  not 
fare  so  well.  But  there  was  scarcely  a  trip  in  which  the  In- 
dian flute  of  Capt.  Monfort  failed  to  get  in  its  work. 

VINDICATION  AND  EULOGY   OF    THE   PIONEERS. 

Now,  rather  than  to  prolong  this  paper  unduly,  I  shall  at- 
tempt to  conclude,  and  will  say  that  I  am  now  drawing  near 
my  fourscore  years  of  age,  fifty-five  of  which  have  been  passed 
near  this  spot.  Fifty-five  years  in  the  life  of  a  man  is  a  very 
long  time,  but  in  the  life  of  a  country  or  state  is  but  like  a 
grain  of  sand  upon  the  sea  shore.  What  history  has  been 
written  in  this  short  space  of  time!  Nothing  equals  it  in  the 
annals  of  the  world.  And,  did  each  of  us,  as  we  pass  along 
the  rugged  ways  of  life,  make  a  note  of  current  events,  what 
an  aid  that  would  be  to  the  future  historian.  Alas,  we  think 
of  these  things  when  too  late.  Of  all  the  actors  who  were  on 
the  stage  here,  fifty-five  years  ago,  there  are  none  remaining. 
They  have  all  gone.  They  were  not  bad  men.  They  took  their 
toddy  as  I  do  to-day  from  off  my  sideboard,  while  others  deem 
it  best  to  to  be  taken  in  their  cellars. 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    ST.    PAUL,    1843-1898.  39 ]_ 

Some  historians  write  up  Pierre  Parrant,  my  old  friend, 
as  a  very  wicked  man.  I  knew  him  well,  and  have  to  take 
issue  with  them.  The  only  offense  I  could  charge  him  with, 
if  it  could  be  called  an  offense,  was  that  he  sold  whisky.  Well, 
tell  me  who  didn't  His  word  in  a  deal  was  as  good  as  any 
other  man's,  whose  word  was  good  at  all. 

Edward  Phelan  (or  Phalen)  was  one  of  those  simple,  plain, 
uneducated  Irishmen;  he  stood  six  feet  twTo  in  his  stocking 
feet;  he  had  been  discharged  honorably  from  the  United 
States  service,  about  the  same  time  with  Sergeant  Mortimer. 
Phelan  and  another  similarly  discharged  soldier,  Sergeant 
John  Hays,  made  claims  together  and  built  their  shanty  about 
where  the  electric  power  house  is  located  on  Hill  street.  One 
morning  in  September,  1839,  Hays  was  missing.  The  body 
was  recovered  in  the  river  near  Carver's  Cave.  Phelan  was 
arrested,  taken  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  there  remained  in  prison 
for  over  six  months,  was  tried  and  acquitted.  He  never  killed 
Hays ;  the  Indians  have  told  me  since  that  Hays  was  not  killed 
by  Phelan.  They  always  spoke  to  me  as  though  they  knew 
who  did  kill  him.  After  Phelan  returned,  he  attempted  to 
take  possession  of  his  claim,  but  other  parties  had  jumped  it, 
and  he  drifted  lower  down  and  took  a  claim  and  built  his 
shanty  not  far  from  where  the  palatial  residence  of  Mr.  Will- 
iam Hamm  now  stands.  Old  Phelan  was  human.  He  took 
his  toddy,  too,  but  he  would  not  injure  a  hair  of  your  head, 
while  I  knew  him. 

They  are  at  rest  now.  It  matters  not  what  the  present 
generation  has  to  say  about  these  fellows.  They  had  their 
faults,  but  are  we  perfect  to-day,  that  we  can  go  back  and 
criticise  with  impunity  the  lives  of  these  old  pioneers,  who 
have  been  the  forerunners  and  helped  us  on  the  way  to  the 
blessings  we  enjoy  here?  I  say,  No.  Bury  their  imperfec- 
tions with  them  in  their  graves;  keep  their  virtues  in  mem- 
ory green  like  the  sward  above  them. 

Of  a  later  period.  I  am  happy  to  see  jet  with  us  a  few 
of  those  blessed  spirits  whom  the  world  would  be  lonesome 
without.  Here  are  Nathan  Myrick,  Capt.  Russell  Blakeley, 
John  D.  Ludden,  W.  P.  Murray,  S.  P.  Folsom,  Alexander  Ram- 
sey, and  some  few  others;  but,  as  they  are  still  in  the  flesh, 


392  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

I  dare  not  express  my  sentiments  regarding  them  and  what 
I  think  of  them,  for  fear  there  might  be  some  exceptions  taken, 
After  they  have  retired  from  the  sphere  of  action,  it  will  be 
time  enough  then. 

Before  concluding,  however,  I  will  except  one,  you,  Alex- 
ander Ramsey,  our  Aleck.  Minnesota  owes  you  much.  You 
took  her  while  in  her  swaddling  clothes.  By  your  wisdom 
and  sagacity  you  nursed  her  to  maturity,  and  then  again  you 
were  called  to  care  for  her,  in  the  nation's  greatest  need.  By 
your  wise  and  prudent  judgment  of  men  and  measures,  you 
failed  not  to  call  into  your  counsels  the  best  men  for  your 
lieutenants,  as  demonstrated  in  the  selection  of  that  Christian 
gentleman,  the  poor  man's  friend,  Gen.  H.  H.  Sibley,  capable, 
and  honorable;  and  hence  your  administration  has  ever  been 
successful.  Minnesota  has  honored  you,  sir,  'tis  true,  but  no 
more  than  you  have  honored  her.  You  have  always  been  will- 
ing to  advise  and  confer  with  your  constituents,  and  hence 
always  will  be  one  of  us. 

Your  successor  was  somewhat  different,  although  we  all 
liked  Willis  A.  Gorman.  He  had  some  peculiarities.  Well, 
who  has  not?  He  insulted  me  on  my  first  introduction  to  him, 
on  the  day  of  his  arrival,  when  the  boat  landed  at  the  foot  of 
Jackson  street,  with  the  new  governor  and  retinue  on  board. 
I  was,  like  all  the  others,  interested  in  seeing  him  come  ashore, 
and  was  standing  on  the  corner  of  the  Merchants'  Hotel,  op- 
posite to  my  store,  when  the  governor  came  along,  escorted  by 
Col.  J.  J.  Noah  and  Morton  Wilkinson.  Approaching  me,  Wil- 
kinson said,  "Governor,  allow  me  to  introduce  to  you  Mr.  A. 
L.  Larpenteur,  an  old  Indian  trader;  he  is  perfectly  familiar 
with  the  Indians,  and  speaks  their  language;  his  acquaintance 
may  be  of  some  benefit  to  you."  "How  do  you  do,  sir?  I 
came  here  purposely  to  look  after  these  Indian  traders ;  shall 
see  to  them,  sir."  I  thought  the  new  governor  wras  a  scorcher, 
and  thus  the  matter  rested.  In  the  course  of  a  very  short  time 
a  delegation  of  Indians,  with  Little  Crow  at  their  head,  called 
upon  the  governor.  Their  interpreter  was  out  of  town.  The 
governor  addressed  a  very  polite  note  to  me,  requesting  me 
to  come  up  to  the  capitol,  as  the  Indians  wished  to  have  a  talk 
with  him.     I  respectfully  returned  his  note,  at  the  same  time 


RECOLLECTIONS   OP   ST.    PAUL,   1843-1898.  393 

reminding  him  of  his  remark  on  the  corner  by  the  Merchants' 
Hotel.  Little  Crow  came  after  me,  and  at  his  request  I  went, 
and  the  new  governor  saw  that  man  needs  his  fellow  man,  and 
that  we  are  each  other's  keepers.  We  were  always  friends 
thereafter,  as  this  little  episode  brought  us  nearer  together. 

Gen.  H.  H,  Sibley  was  an  Indian  trader.  Notwithstand- 
ing, when  the  Indian  outbreak  took  place,  you  did  not  hesitate 
to  call  him  to  your  aid.  In  so  doing,  the  high  character  and 
integrity  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  Indians  showed  subse- 
quently that  you  made  no  mistake.  Had  he  precipitated  the 
attack  at  Camp  Belease,  as  poor  Custer  did  at  Big  Horn,  the 
ninety-one  hostages  held  by  the  hostile  Indians  would  have 
been  butchered.  But,  by  diplomacy,  the  lives  of  all  of  them 
were  saved  and  the  hostiles  were  captured,  without  losing  a 
man.  Which  of  the  two  was  the  better  general?  'Tis  not 
for  me  in  this  article  to  say. 

Minnesota,  the  gem  of  the  constellation  of  states!  I  have 
followed  your  progress  from  infancy  to  maturity.  I  have  seen 
you  when  you  had  to  be  fed  as  a  suckling  child,  and  ere  my 
earthly  career  has  closed  you  have  contributed  largely  to  the 
support  of  others;  your  hidden  resources  have  all  been  devel- 
oped since  I  saw  you  first.  Little  did  I  think,  when  stepping 
off  the  steamer  Otter,  September  15th,  1843,  that  to-day  your 
new  executive  mansion  would  be  built  upon  land  bought  by 
me  from  the  government  at  $1.25  per  acre.  And  again,  while 
in  pursuit  of  my  vocation,  camping  with  Hole-in-the-Day,  the 
elder,  at  Watab,  I  remember  casting  my  eyes  upon  those  great 
outcrops  of  rock  lying  there,  of  no  earthly  value  apparently. 
Yet  there  was  a  gold  mine  in  them,  and  I  have  to-day  been 
permitted  to  see  specimens  of  this  rock,  artistically  hewn  and 
polished,  form  a  part  of  the  material  out  of  which  our  capitol 
building  is  being  built,  It  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to  note  that 
our  little  family  bickerings  were  finally  laid  at  rest  last  July 
27th,  1898,  with  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  that  build- 
ing; but  let  me  add,  in  conclusion  thereto,  that  those  who  op- 
posed the  meager  appropriation  granted  will  regret  their  act. 
Within  the  lifetime  of  some  of  them,  the  state  of  Minnesota 
will  contain  three  millions  of  inhabitants,  and  this  building, 
large  and  capacious  as  it  appears  for  the  present  needs,  will 


394  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

require  an  annex,  as  with  our  new  United  States  postoffiee 
building  to-day. 

Old  settlers  and  fellow  contemporaries,  I  cannot  close  this 
already  too  long  paper,  without  expressing  my  gratification 
and  pride,  though  one  of  the  humblest  among  you,  in  being 
placed  in  your  midst  as  one  of  the  old  settlers  and  pioneers  of 
Minnesota.  The  brightest  legacy  I  can  leave  my  children  is 
that  their  father  was  one  of  those  who  founded  and  helped 
to  develop  the  resources  of  this  great  state.  No  state  in  our 
Union  had  a  better  class  of  men  to  begin  its  existence  with. 
They  were  men  of  energy  and  intelligence, — God-fearing  men, 
hence  successful.  In  1843  I  found  the  territory  of  the  pres- 
ent states  of  Minnesota  and  the  two  Dakotas  having,  if  we  in- 
clude the  soldiers  at  Fort  Snelling,  only  about  two  hundred 
white  inhabitants.  To-day,  I  see  these  states  with  over  two 
millions  of  people.  Is  it  beyond  the  bounds  of  probability  to 
say  that  seven  years  hence,  "Our  Minnesota"  will  have  two 
millions  herself?    I  think  not. 

Our  climate  is  unsurpassed  anywhere,  and  our  winters  are 
becoming  milder  every  year.  Those  of  us  who  passed  our 
early  days  in  the  Middle  States  remember  only  too  well  the 
mud  of  early  spring  and  late  autumns,  and  icicles  three  feet 
long  hanging  from  the  roofs  of  our  houses.  We  have  none  of 
that  here.  Our  roads  are  simply  perfect  all  the  time.  I  look 
back  with  regret  at  the  loss  of  the  good  sleigh  rides  we  had 
here  in  the  days  of  "Auld  Lang  Syne,"  which  recollection  at 
times  makes  us  old  men  almost  wish  we  were  boys  again. 

My  dear  friends  of  this  present  generation,  whenever  you 
meet  one  of  these  old  settlers  and  pioneers  of  the  frontier,  tot- 
tering toward  the  grave,  throw  the  mantle  of  charity  over 
him;  overlook  his  imperfections,  and  remember  that  it  was  he 
who  blazed  the  trees,  marking  out  the  path  which  made  it  pos- 
sible for  you  to  enjoy  the  blessings  you  possess  here  in  the 
great  and  glorious  State  of  Minnesota  to-day. 


F: 


MR.  AND  MRS.  N.  D.  WHITE. 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Vol.  IX.   Plate  XIV. 


CAPTIVITY  AMONG   THE  SIOUX,  AUGUST   18  TO 
SEPTEMBER  26,  1862.* 


BY  MRS.  N.  D.  WHITE. 


The  story  I  bring  to  you  includes  what  I  saw  and  what 
occurred  to  myself  and  family  during  the  most  terrible  Indian 
massacre  that  was  ever  known  in  our  fair  country.  Fifteen 
thousand  square  miles  of  territory  were  overrun  by  the  sav- 
ages, and  their  trails  in  Minnesota  were  marked  by  blood  and 
lire,  while  men,  women,  and  innocent  children  were  indiscrim- 
inately butchered  or  made  prisoners. 

I  was  born  in  the  town  of  Alexander,  Genesee  county,  New 
York,  February  10th,  1825,  my  maiden  name  being  Urania  S. 
Frazer;  and  I  was  married  to  Nathan  Dexter  White,  October 
1st,  1845.  The  photograph  reproduced  in  Plate  XIV  was  taken 
at  the  completion  of  fifty-three  years  of  our  married  life.  We 
remained  in  New  York  state  about  two  years,  and  then  emi- 
grated to  Columbia  county,  Wisconsin,  where  we  lived  fifteen 
years.  In  the  spring  of  1862  we  again  turned  our  faces  west- 
ward, and  June  28th  found  us  in  Renville  county,  Minnesota. 

Little  did  we  think  how  soon  we  should  pass  through  the 
terrible  ordeal  that  awaited  us.  We  commenced  the  erection 
of  our  log  cabin  at  the  base  of  the  bluff  in  the  valley  of  Beaver 
creek,  near  its  opening  into  the  wide  Minnesota  river  valley, 
with  stout  hands  and  willing  minds,  looking  hopefully  forward 
to  better  times,  for  we  thought  we  had  selected  the  very  heart 
of  this  western  paradise  for  our  home.  Truly  it  was  beautiful, 
even  in  its  wild,  uncultivated  condition,  with  its  gigantic  trees 
in  the  creek  valley,  its  towering  bluffs,  and  the  sweet-scented 
wild  flowers.  A  babbling  brook  formed  a  part  of  the  eastern 
boundary  of  our  land,  and  its  broad  acres  of  prairie  made  it 


*Read  at  the  monthly  meeting   of  the  Executive  Council,  November  14, 
1898. 


396  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

desirable  enough  to  have  satisfied  the  wishes  of  the  most  fas- 
tidious lover  of  a  fine  farm.  We  had  just  got  settled  in  our 
new  log  house  when  the  Sioux  Indians  who  lived  near  us  began 
to  be  uneasy. 

Little  Crow's  village  was  situated  about  six  miles  from 
our  house,  across  the  Minnesota  river.  His  warriors  numbered 
about  eight  hundred.  These  Indians,  with  their  families,  by 
reason  of  the  scarcity  of  buffaloes  and  other  wild  game,  were 
largely  dependent  upon  their  annuities.  They  were  supplied 
with  provisions  from  the  commissary  stores  at  the  Lower  Sioux 
Indian  Agency,  near  Little  Crow's  village;  and  they  also  received 
their  annuities  from  the  agent  at  this  point.  The  summer  of 
that  eventful  year  was  to  all  appearances  very  favorable  to 
them,  so  far  as  crops  were  concerned.  Their  many  cornfields, 
of  nearly  a  thousand  acres,  bore  promise  of  rich  yield.  But 
Little  Crow  was  all  the  time,  as  was  afterward  proven,  work- 
ing upon  his  warriors  in  such  a  manner  as  to  keep  them  ex- 
cited and  bloodthirsty.  Indian  treachery  came  to  the  surface. 
We  frequently  saw  them  on  the  tops  of  the  bluffs  overlooking 
our  dwelling.  They  seemed  to  be  watching  for  something. 
When  questioned,  they  said  they  were  looking  for  Ojibways. 
I  think  they  must  have  held  war  meetings  or  councils,  for  we 
often  heard  drums  in  the  evening  on  their  side  of  the  Minne- 
sota river  several  weeks  before  the  outbreak. 

Reports  came  to  us  that  some  of  the  Indians  had  made  a 
raid  upon  the  commissary  stores  at  the  Upper  Agency;  but  we 
paid  little  attention  to  it,  thinking  it  only  a  rumor. 

The  annuity  was  to  have  been  paid  in  June;  but,  owing  to 
the  civil  war  that  was  then  raging  between  the  United  and 
Confederate  States,  the  money  was  delayed.  The  Indians  were 
compelled  to  ward  off  starvation  by  digging  roots  for  food. 
Three  or  four  weeks  previous  to  the  outbreak,  we  could  see 
squaws  almost  every  day  wandering  over  the  prairie  in  search 
of  the  nutritious  roots  of  the  plant  known  to  the  French  voy- 
ageurs  as  the  "pomme  de  terre."  With  a  small  pole  about 
six  feet  long,  having  one  end  sharpened,  they  dug  its  tap-root, 
which  they  called  tipsin^h,  somewhat  resembling  a  white  Eng- 
lish turnip  in  color,  taste,  and  shape. 

Many  of  the  Indians  had  pawned  their  guns  for  provisions. 
My  husband  had  taken  several  in  exchange  for  beef  cattle. 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.  397 

Among  them  was  Little  Crow's  gun.  This  manner  of  dealing 
with  the  white  man  was  not  satisfactory  to  them;  and  espe- 
cially to  be  compelled  thus  to  part  with  their  guns  was  very 
hard.  Knowing  the  treachery  of  the  Indians,  none  of  us  should 
have  been  surprised  when  this  desperate  outbreak  over- 
whelmed us;  and  yet,  when  the  eighteenth  day  of  August, 
1862,  came,  with  its  cloudless  sky,  not  one  of  the  scattered 
settlers  was  prepared  for  the  carnage  and  death  which  these 
cunning  plotters  designed  for  them.  So  secretly  had  each 
Indian  performed  his  allotted  part  in  the  working  up  of  this 
terrible  tragedy  in  which  they  were  to  be  the  heartless  actors 
and  we  the  helpless  victims. 

At  this  time  nearly  every  farmer  was  busy  making  hay; 
but  my  husband  fortunately  was  on  a  trip  to  Blue  Earth 
county,  about  sixty  miles  southeast  of  us.  I  say  fortunately, 
because  every  man  stood  in  great  danger  of  being  killed;  and 
in  all  probability  that  would  have  been  his  fate,  if  he  had  been 
with  us,  as  no  men  among  the  settlers  were  taken  prisoners. 

FLIGHT,    AMBUSH,    AND   MASSACRE. 

The  first  outbreak,  the  attack  on  our  fleeing  party,  and 
the  beginning  of  my  captivity,  were  on  Monday,  August  18th; 
and  I  was  released  thirty-nine  days  afterward,  on  September 
26th, 

While  I  was  busily  engaged  gathering  up  the  clothing  for 
the  purpose  of  doing  my  washing  on  the  morning  of  the  out- 
break, my  daughter  Julia,  fourteen  years  old,  who  had  been 
assisting  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Henderson,  about  a  half  mile 
from  us,  whose  wife  was  very  sick,  came  running  in,  accom- 
panied by  a  daughter  of  Mr.  J.  W.  Earle,  and  breathlessly  told 
me  that  the  Imdians  were  coming  to  kill  us,  and  that  I  must 
go  back  with  them  quick.  This  frightened  me,  in  fact,  it 
seemed  to  strike  me  dumb;  but,  suddenly  recovering  my 
thoughts,  I  immediately  began  planning  what  we  should  take 
with  us.  Soon  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be 
folly  to  attempt  to  take  anything.  But  on  moving  my  hus- 
band's overcoat  I  caught  sight  of  a  large  pocketbook  that  con- 
tained valuable  papers  and  some  money.    This  I  quickly  se- 


398  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

cured,  and  managed  to  keep  it  during  all  my  captivity.  I 
caught  up  my  baby  boy,  five  months  old,  and  placed  him  on 
one  arm,  and  took  Little  Crow's  gun  in  the  other  hand.  My 
daughter  also  carried  a  gun.  We  hurriedly  wended  our  way 
to  the  house  of  tho  sick  neighbor,  and  thence  went  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  Earle. 

There  I  found  n?y  twelve-year-old  son  Millard,  who  had 
been  herding  sheep  Having  learned  of  the  trouble  with  the 
Indians,  he  had  driven  the  sheep  up  and  put  them  in  the  yard. 
Eugene,  my  oldest  son,  had  gone  out  on  the  prairie  to  bring 
in  our  colts,  to  keep  them  from  the  Indians,  because  they  were 
collecting  all  the  horses  in  the  neighborhood  to  ride,  as  they 
said,  in  hunting  Ojibways,  that  being  the  excuse  they  gave  for 
this  bold  robbery.  He  found  that  the  Indians  had  already 
got  the  colts  and  were  breaking  them  to  ride,  having  them  in 
a  slough,  where  they  could  easily  handle  them.  Consequently 
he  came  back  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Earle.  On  his  way  back  he 
met  Mr.  Weichman,  a  neighbor  just  from  the  Agency,  who 
told  him  that  the  Indians  were  killing  all  the  white  people 
there. 

At  the  house  of  Mr.  Earle  twenty-seven  neighbors  were 
assembled,  men,  women  and  children.  Teams  of  horses  were 
soon  hitched  to  wagons,  and  we  started  on  our  perilous 
journey. 

The  Indians,  anticipating  our  flight  and  knowing  the  direc- 
tion we  should  be  likely  to  take,  had  secreted  themselves  in 
ambush  on  either  side  of  the  road  in  the  tall  grass.  On  our 
arrival  in  the  ambush,  twenty  or  thirty  Indians  in  their  war 
paint  rose  to  their  feet;  they  did  not  shoot,  but  surrounded  us, 
took  our  horses  by  the  bits,  and  commanded  us  to  surrender 
to  them  all  our  teamis,  wagons,  and  everything  except  the 
clothing  we  had  on.  A  parley  with  them  in  behalf  of  the 
sick  woman  was  had  by  one  of  our  number  who  could  speak 
the  Sioux  language.  The  Indians  finally  consented  that  we 
might  go,  if  we  would  leave  all  the  teams,  wagons,  etc.,  ex- 
cept one  team  and  a  light  wagon  in  which  Mrs.  Henderson 
and  her  two  children  had  been  placed  on  a  feather  bed. 

We  felt  a  little  more  hopeful  at  getting  such  easy  terms 
of  escape,  but  our  hopes  were  of  short  duration;  for  they  soon 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.  399 

became  dissatisfied  with  the  agreement  they  liad  made  and 
gave  notice  that  they  must  liave  our  last  team,  and  we  were 
forced  to  stop  and  comply  with  their  demand.  The  team  was 
given  up,  and  the  Indians  said  we  might  go.  Several  men 
took  hold  of  the  wagon,  and  we  again  started,  feeling  that 
there  was  still  a  little  chance  of  escape.  We  had  gone  only  a 
short  distance  when  we  were  made  fully  aware  of  the  treachery 
that  predominates  in  the  Indian  character.  They  commenced 
shooting  at  the  men  drawing  the  wagon.  Mr.  Henderson  and 
Mr.  Wedge,  in  compliance  with  Mrs.  Henderson's  wishes,  held 
up  a  pillowslip  as  a  flag  of  truce;  but  the  Indians  kept  on  firing. 
The  pillowslip  was  soon  riddled.  Mr.  Henderson's  fingers 
on  one  hand  were  shot  off,  and  Mr.  Wedge  was  killed. 

Then  commenced  a  flight,  a  run  for  life,  on  the  open 
prairie,  by  men,  women,  and  children,  unarmed  and  defence- 
less, before  the  cruel  savages  armed  with  guns,  tomahawks, 
and  scalping  knives.  Imagine,  if  you  can,  the  awful  sight 
here  presented  to  my  view,  both  before  and  after  being  cap- 
tured,— strong  men  making  desperate  efforts  to  save  them- 
selves and  their  little  ones  from  the  scalping  knives  of  their 
merciless  foes,  who  were  in  hot  pursuit,  shooting  at  them  rap- 
idly as  they  ran.  Before  the  Indians  passed  me,  the  bullets 
were  continually  whizzing  by  my  head.  Those  who  could  es- 
cape, and  their  murderous  enemies,  were  soon  out  of  my  sight. 
In  one  instance,  a  little  boy  was  shot  and  killed  in  his  father's 
armte. 

Woe  and  despair  now  seized  all  of  us  who  were  made 
captives.  The  bravest  among  us  lost  courage,  being  so  help- 
less, defenceless,  and  unprepared  for  this  act  of  savage  war- 
fare. With  blanched  faces  we  beheld  the  horrible  scene  and 
clasped  our  helpless  little  children  closer  to  us.  Then  fearful 
thoughts  of  torture  crowded  into  our  minds,  as  Mrs.  Hender- 
son and  her  two  children  were  taken  rudely  from  the  bed  in 
the  wagon,  thrown  violently  on  the  ground,  and  covered  with 
the  bed,  to  which  a  torch  was  applied.  The  blaze  grew  larger 
and  higher,  and  I  could  see  no  more!  My  courage  sank  as  I 
wondered  in  a  dazed,  half  insane  manner,  what  would  be  our 
fate  and  that  of  other  friends.  The  two  little  children,  I  was 
afterward  told,  had  their  heads  crushed  by  blows  struck  with 


400  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL.   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

violins  belonging  to  the  family  of  Mr.  Earle.  The  burial  party 
sent  out  by  General  Sibley  from  Fort  Ridgely  found  the  violins, 
with  the  brains  and  hair  of  the  poor  little  innocents  still  stick- 
ing to  them,  two  weeks  later.  Mr.  Henderson  was  afterward 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Sirch  Coulie,  September  2d. 

Nine  of  our  number  were  killed  here  in  this  flight,  among 
them  being  our  oldest  son,  Eugene,  then  about  sixteen  years 
old.  Eleven  were  taken  prisoners,  among  these  being  myself, 
my  babe,  and  my  daughter,  fourteen  years  old. 

Seven  made  their  escape,  my  twelve-year-old  son  being 
among  them.  They  started  for  Fort  Ridgely,  a  distance  of 
twenty  miles,  thinking  that  there  they  would  be  safe;  but,  on 
arriving  near  the  fort,  they  could  see  so  many  Indians  skulk- 
ing around  that  they  thought  it  extremely  dangerous  to  make 
any  further  effort  to  reach  the  fort.  They  then  decided  to 
go  to  Cedar  Lake,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles  north.  Their  boots 
and  shoes  were  filled  with  water  in  wading  through  sloughs 
and  became  a  great  burden  to  them,  so  that  they  were  com- 
pelled to  take  them  off  to  expedite  their  flight.  Consequently, 
in  traveling  through  coarse  wet  grass,  the  flesh  on  their  feet 
and  ankles  was  worn  and  lacerated  until  the  bonefc  were  bare 
in  places.  They  could  get  no  food,  and  starvation  stared  at 
them  with  its  gnawing  pangs.  They  were  hatless  in  the  scorch- 
ing sunshine,  and  were  completely  worn  out  by  wading 
through  sloughs  and  hiding  in  the  tall  grass, — in  fact,  doing 
anything  to  make  their  escape  from  the  Indians. 

When  within  ten  or  fifteen  miles  of  Oedar  Lake,  the  strong- 
est man  of  the  party  was  sent  ahead  for  help,  to  get  food 
for  those  who  were  unable  to  walk  much  farther.  On  reaching 
a  rise  of  ground  he  turned  quickly,  motioned  to  them,  and  then 
threw  himself  in  the  tall  grass.  The  others  of  the  party  knew 
that  this  meant  danger  and  hid  themselves  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible. Soon  sharp  reports  of  guns  came  to  their  eats.  They 
supposed,  of  course,  that  the  young  man  was  killed;  but  it  was 
not  so.  These  Indians,  five  in  number,  had  been  away  on  a 
visit;  and  consequently  they  had  not  heard  of  the  massacre. 
They  were  returning  to  Little  Crow's  village.  The  young  man 
was  not  seen  by  these  Indians ;  but  the  others  had  been  seen 
before  dropping  in  the  grass.    They  fired  their  guns  for  the 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE  'SIOUX,    1862.  4QJ 

purpose  of  reloading,  and  soon  tracked  the  party  with  whom 
my  son  was  to  their  hiding  places  by  their  trail  in  the  wet 
grass.  My  son  noticed  one  of  them  skulking  along  on  his 
trail,  and  watching  him  very  intently.  He  supposed  that  the 
Indian  would  shoot  him;  so  he  turned  his  face  away,  and 
waited  for  the  bullet  that  was  to  take  his  life.  What  a  ter- 
rible moment  it  wTas  to  a  lad  of  only  twelve  years ! 

But  as  no  shot  was  fired,  he  turned  his  head  to  see  what 
the  Indian  was  doing.  The  Indian  then  asked  him  what  was 
the  matter.  Fearing  to  tell  the  truth,  he  told  him  that  the 
Ojibways  were  killing  all  the  white  people  in  their  neighbor- 
hood, and  also  told  how  hungry  they  were. 

The  Indians  gave  them  some  cold  boiled  potatoes,  turning 
them  on  the  ground,  and  asked  to  trade  for  Little  Crow's  gun, 
which  one  of  the  party  had  received  from  me.  Not  daring  to 
refuse,  they  gave  them  the  gun,  which  was  a  very  handsome 
one.  The  Indians  now  left  them,  and  they  managed  to  reach 
Cedar  Lake,  being  the  first  to  carry  the  news  of  the  outbreak 
to  that  place.  My  son  traveled  from  Cedar  Lake  to  St.  Peter 
without  further  hardship. 

The  day  when  the  outbreak  commenced  my  husband  was 
on  his  return  from  Blue  Earth  county  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jacob- 
son,  parents  of  the  sick  Mrs.  Henderson.  Late  in  the  after- 
noon, when  within  six  miles  of  New  Ulm,  they  met  a  large 
number  of  settlers,  men,  women,  and  children,  fleeing  for  their 
lives,  who  told  them  that  the  Sioux  Indians  had  commenced 
a  desperate  raid  upon  the  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Ulm, 
that  many  of  them  had  been  killed,  and  that  the  Indians  were 
then  besieging  the  village;  also  that  word  from  Renville 
county  had  been  received,  that  all  the  settlers  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Beaver  Creek  and  Birch  Coulie  were  murdered,  if 
they  had  failed  to  make  their  escape. 

Having  remained  with  the  fleeing  party  until  morning,  my 
husband  started  on  his  return  to  the  home  of  Mr.  Jacobson, 
a  distance  of  thirty  miles.  On  his  way  back  he  saw  farms 
deserted  and  cattle  running  at  large  in  fields  of  shocked  grain. 
At  Madelia  he  found  an  assemblage  of  settlers  contemplating 
the  idea  of  making  a  stand  against  the  Indians.  They  resolved 
not  to  be  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  Sioux,  thinking 
26 


402  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL.   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

that  they  could  defend  themselves  by  building  breastworks  of 
logs  which  were  at  hand.  Consequently  my  husband  remained 
with  them  one  day,  and  assisted  in  the  building  of  the  fortifi- 
cation, until  reliable  information  came  to  them  that  there  were 
so  many  Indians  engaged  in  the  outbreak  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  them  to  make  a  successful  stand.  Therefore, 
after  taking  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jacobson  to  their  home,  he  started 
for  St.  Peter,  where  he  arrived  on  Saturday,  the  23d  day  of 
August. 

There  he  met  Millard,  our  twelve-year-old  son,  who  nar- 
rated to  him  the  dismal  tidings  of  the  outbreak;  that  his 
mother,  sister,  and  little  baby  brother,  were  taken  off  by  the 
Indians;  and  that  Eugene  was  hit  by  a  bullet  in  the  leg  while 
running  in  advance  of  him.  He  told  how  Eugene  ran  about 
a  fourth  of  a  mile  after  being  wounded,  then  turned  a  little 
to  one  side  of  the  course  they  were  running,  and  dropped  into 
a  cluster  of  weeds.  The  Indians  were  soon  upon  him  with 
their  scalping  knives.  In  casting  a  look  back  he  saw  them 
apparently  in  the  act  of  taking  his  scalp. 

My  husband's  team  of  horses  and  his  carriage  were  pressed 
into  military  service  at  St.  Peter.  He  went  with  General  Sib- 
ley's forces  from  St.  Peter  to  Fort  Ridgely,  intending  to  go 
with  them  on  their  expedition  against  the  Indians.  But  it  fell 
to  his  lot  to  remain  at  the  fort  until  after  our  release. 

CAPTIVES  TAKEN  TO  LITTLE  CROW'S  VILLAGE. 

When  I  was  captured,  my  captor  seized  me  by  the  shoul- 
ders, turned  me  quickly  around,  and  motioned  for  me  to  turn 
back.  At  this  I  screamed,  partly  for  the  purpose  of  calling 
Mr.  Earle's  attention  to*  see  that  I  was  a  prisoner,  and  he 
looked  around.  This  I  did  thinking  that  he  might  escape  and 
give  the  tidings  to  my  relatives  and  friends. 

Just  before  I  was  captured,  my  son  Eugene,  who  was  after- 
ward killed,  passed  me  and  said,  "Ma,  run  faster,  or  they  will 
catch  you."  This  was  the  last  time  I  heard  him  speak  or  saw 
him,  and  he  must  have  been  killed  soon  afterward. 

It  was  now  near  the  middle  of  the  day;  the  heat  of  the  sun 
was  very  intense;  and  we  (the  captives)  were  all  suffering  for 
drink.    I  sat  down  a  moment  to  rest,  and  then  thought  of  ray 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862,  4Qg 

dress,  which,  had  become  very  wet  while  wading  through  a 
slough;  so  I  sucked  some  water  from  it,  which  relieved  my 
thirst  a  little. 

We  captives  and  a  few  of  the  Indians  walked  back  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  rf.  W.  Earle.  The  Indians  entered  the  house,  and 
delighted  themselves  by  breaking  stoves  and  furniture  of  vari- 
ous kinds  and  throwing  crockery  through  the  windows.  After 
they  had  completed  the  destruction  of  everything  in  the  house 
which  they  did  not  wish  to  appropriate  for  their  own  use,  we 
were  put  into  wagons  and  ordered  to  be  taken  to  Little  Crow's 
village. 

Members  of  families  were  separated  and  taken  to  different 
places,  seemingly  to  add  to  our  suffering  by  putting  upon  us 
the  terrible  agony  of  wondering  where  the  other  prisoners  were 
and  what  was  to  be  their  fate.  During  this  ride  we  passed 
several  houses  belonging  to  settlers  who  had  been  killed  or 
had  fled  to  save  their  lives.  The  Indians  entered  these  houses 
and  plundered  them  of  many  valuables,  such  as  bedding  and 
clothing.  On  our  way  to  the  Minnesota  bottomland  we  had 
to  descend  a  very  steep  bluff,  where,  by  our  request,  the  In- 
dians gave  us  the  privilege  of  walking  down. 

After  reaching  the  foot  of  the  bluff,  our  course  was  through 
underbrush  of  all  kinds.  The  thought  of  torture  was  upper- 
most in  my  mind.  I  supposed  that  was  why  such  a  course 
was  taken.  There  was  no  road  at  all,  not  even  a  track.  We 
were  compelled  to  make  our  way  as  best  we  could  through 
grape  vines,  prickly  ash,  gooseberry  bushes,  and  trees.  After 
much  difficulty  in  bending  down  small  trees  in  order  to  let  our 
wagons  pass  over  them,  we  finally  reached  the  Minnesota  river 
with  many  rents  in  our  clothing  and  numerous  scratches  on 
our  arms. 

When  fording  the  river,  we  were  all  given  a  drink  of  river 
water,  some  sugar,  and  a  piece  of  bread.  The  sugar  and  bread 
were  taken  from  the  house  of  one  of  my  neighbors.  Just  as 
we  were  driving  into  the  water,  the  wagon  containing  my 
daughter  with  other  captives  was  disappearing  beyond  the 
top  of  the  bluff  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  I  thought  again, 
What  will  befall  her? 

We  soon  reached  Little  Crow's  village,  where  we  were  kept 
about  a  week.    The  village  numbered  about  sixty  tepees,  be- 


404  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL.   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

Sides  Little  Crow's  dwelling,  a  frame  building.  Mrs.  James 
Garrotters,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Earle  and  a  little  daughter,  myself  and 
babe,  were  taken  to  Little  Crow's.  On  entering  the  house  the 
object  that  first  met  my  gaze  was  Little  Crow,  a  large,  tall  In- 
dian, walking  the  floor  in  a  very  haughty,  dignified  manner, 
as  much  as  to  say,  "I  am  great!"  However,  his  majesty  con- 
descended to  salute  us  with  "Ho,"  that  being  their  usual  word 
of  greeting.  The  room  was  very  large.  The  furniture  con- 
sisted of  only  a  few  chairs,  table,  and  camp  kettles.  A  portion 
of  the  floor  at  one  end  of  the  room  was  raised  about  one  foot, 
where  they  slept  on  blankets.  His  four  wives,  all  sisters,  were 
busily  engaged  packing  away  plunder  which  had  been  taken 
from  stores  and  the  houses  of  settlers.  They  gave  us  for  our 
supper  bread  and  tea.  Soon  after  tea,  Mrs.  Carrothers  and 
myself  were  escorted  to  a  tepee  where  we  remained  until  morn- 
ing, when  we  were  claimed  by  different  Indians. 

I  have  reason  for  believing  that  an  emissary  from  the  Con- 
federate States  had  been  among  these  Indians  urging  and  en- 
couraging them  to  their  fierce  outbreak  and  warfare  against 
the  innocent  settlers.  I  heard  Little  Crow  say,  on  the  first 
day  of  my  captivity,  after  he  had  been  looking  over  some  pa- 
pers, that  he  was  going  to  sell  the  Minnesota  valley  to  the 
Southern  States.  An  Indian  told  Mrs.  James  Carrothers,  on 
the  day  of  our  capture,  that  they  expected  to  sell  Minnesota  to 
the  South.    Mrs.  Carrothers  could  speak  the  Sioux  language. 

It  happened  to  be  my  lot  in  the  distribution  of  the  prisoners 
to  be  owned  by  Too-kon-we-ehasta  (meaning  the  "Stone  Man") 
and  his  squaw.  They  called  me  their  child,  or  "big  papoose." 
Their  owning  me  in  this  manner  saved  me  probably  from  a 
worse  fate  than  death;  and  although  more  than  a  third  of  a 
century  has  elapsed  since  that  event,  strange  as  it  may  appear 
to  some,  I  cherish  with  kindest  feelings  the  friendship  of  my 
Indian  father  and  mother.  Too-kon-we-chasta  was  employed 
by  General  Sibley  as  a  scout  on  his  expedition  against  the 
Indians  in  the  summer  of  1863.  He  now  lives  across  the  Min- 
nesota river  from  Morton,  in  Redwood  county,  on  a  farm.  He 
and  his  squaw  called  on  me  several  times  when  we  were  living 
near  Beaver  Falls.  They  manifested  a  great  deal  of  friendship. 
There  is  a  wide  difference  in  the  moral  character  of  Indians. 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.         ,  4Q5 

Before  retiring  for  the  night  we  were  commanded  to  make 
ourselves  squaw  suits.  The  squaws  told  us  how  to  make  them, 
and  mine  was  made  according  to  their  directions.  Mrs.  Car- 
rothers  failed  to  make  hers  as  told,  and  consequently  was  or- 
dered to  rip  it  apart  and  make  it  over.  I  put  mine  on  while 
she  was  making  hers  as  first  told.  When  finished  she  put  it 
on.  We  thought  our  looks  were  extremely  ludicrous.  She 
cast  a  queer  gaze  at  me,  and  then  commenced  laughing.  I  said 
to  her  that  under  the  circumstances  I  could  see  nothing  to 
laugh  about.  She  replied  that  we  might  better  laugh  than 
cry,  for  we  had  been  told  that  the  Indians  would  have  no  tears, 
and  that  those  who  cried  would  be  first  to  die. 

I  also  had  to  lay  aside  my  shoes  and  wear  moccasins.  The 
last  I  saw  of  my  shoes,  an  Indian  boy  about  a  dozen  years  old 
was  having  great  sport  with  them  by  tossing  them  with  his 
feet  to  see  how  high  he  could  send  them. 

On  the  third  day  of  my  captivity  I  was  taken  out  by  my 
squaw  mother  a  short  distance  from  our  tepee,  beside  a  corn- 
field fence,  and  was  given  to  understand  that  I  must  remain 
there  until  she  came  for  me.  After  being  there  a  short  time, 
an  old  squaw  came  to  me,  and,  leaning  against  the  fence,  gazed 
at  me  some  time  before  speaking.  Finally  she  said  in  a  low 
voice,  "Me  Winnebago;  Sioux  nepo  papoose,"  and  then  left.  I 
never  learned  why  I  was  taken  out  there,  but  have  thought 
since  that  the  Indians  had  decided  to  kill  my  child,  as  "nepo 
papoose"  means  "kill  a  baby;"  that  my  squaw  mother  took  me 
there  for  the  purpose  of  hiding  my  child  from  the  Indians;  and 
that  being  afraid  to  give  the  reason  herself,  she  sent  this  old 
squaw  from  another  tribe  to  tell  me. 

During  this  week  of  tepee  life  the  ludicrous  alternated  with 
the  sublime,  the  laughable  with  the  heart-breaking  and  pa- 
thetic. We  saw  papooses  of  all  sizes  robed  in  rich  laces  and 
bedecked  in  many  fantastic  styles  with  silk  fabrics,  until  one 
must  laugh  despite  all  their  fearful  surroundings.  When  the 
laugh  died  on  our  lips,  the  terrible  thought  crowded  into  our 
minds,  Where  did  these  things  come  from?  What  tales  could 
they  tell  if  power  were  given  them  to  speak?  Where  are  the 
butchered  and  mutilated  forms  that  once  wore  them?  My 
heart  was  crushed,  my  brain  reeled,  and  I  grew  faint  and  sick 


406 


MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 


wondering,  or  rather  trying  not  to  wonder,  what  would  be  our 
own  fate. 

The  Indians  through  plunder  had  on  hand  a  good  supply 
of  provisions,  consisting  of  flour,  dried  fruit,  groceries  of  vari- 
ous kinds,  and  an  abundance  of  fresh  meat.  Their  manner  of 
cooking  was  not  very  elaborate;  an  epicure  would  not  have 
relished  it  as  well  as  we  did,  until  after  being  forced  by  the 
pain  or  weakness  caused  by  the  want  of  food.  Hunger  will 
make  food  cooked  after  the  manner  of  the  Indians  palatable. 

At  times  it  seemed  to  me  as  though  a  hand  had  grasped 
my  throat  and  was  choking  me  every  time  I  tried  to  swallow 
food,  so  great  was  the  stricture  brought  about  by  the  fearful 
tension  on  the  nervous  system.  Truly  and  well  has  it  been 
said  that  no  bodily  suffering,  however  great,  is  so  keen  as 
mental  torture. 

My  squaw  mother  was  our  cook.  She  mixed  bread  in  a 
six-quart  pan  by  stirring  flour  into  about  two  quarts  of  warm 
water,  with  one  teacupf ul  of  tallow  and  a  little  saleratus, 
bringing  it  to  the  consistency  of  biscuit  dough.  She  then  took 
the  dough  out  of  the  pan,  turned  it  bottom  side  up  on  the 
ground,  placed  the  dough  on  the  pan,  patted  it  flat  with  her 
hands,  cut  it  in  small  pieces,  and  fried  it  in  tallow.  Potatoes 
they  usually  roasted  in  the  hot  embers  of  the  camp  fire.  Their 
manner  of  broiling  beefsteak  was  not  much  of  a  trick,  but 
very  remarkable  for  labor  saving.  They  put  the  steak  across 
two  sticks  over  the  blaze,  without  salting,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
it  was  done.  By  so  doing  they  did  not  have  the  trouble  of 
cleaning  a  broiling  pan.  Tripe  was  an  extremely  favorite  dish 
among  them,  and  they  were  quite  quick  in  its  preparation. 
The  intestines  were  taken  between  the  thumb  and  finger,  the 
contents  were  squeezed  out,  and  then,  without  washing,  the 
tripe  was  broiled  and  prepared  in  regular  Indian  epicurean 
style.  Truly  these  noble  red  people  can  justly  be  called  a 
labor-saving  people,  whatever  other  qualities  they  may  lack. 

They  follow  their  white  brothers  in  their  love  for  tea  and 
coffee,  which  they  make  very  strong.  They  sometimes  flavored 
their  coffee  with  cinnamon.  My  share  of  coffee  was  always 
given  me  in  a  pint  bowl  with  three  tablespoonfuls  of  sugar  in 
it.  I  ate  some  breads  which,  with  my  tea  and  coffee,  composed 
my  bill  of  fare  while  with  them.    In  fact,  I  think  I  could  not 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.  4Q7 

have  eaten  the  most  delicious  meal  ever  prepared  by  civilized 
people  while  a  prisoner  among  these  savages,  with  my  family 
killed  or  scattered  as  they  were  and  my  own  fate  still  preying 
on  my  mind. 

The  Indians  were  all  great  lovers  of  jewelry,  as  every  school 
child  knowTs.  Every  captive  was  stripped  of  all  jewelry  and 
other  valuables  in  her  possession.  The  Sioux  did  not  wear 
rings  in  their  noses,  like  some  tribes;  but  every  other  available 
place  on  the  body  was  utilized  to  good  advantage  on  which 
to  display  jewelry.  The  clocks  that  had  been  plundered  from 
many  a  peaceful  home  were  taken  to  pieces  and  made  to  do 
service  in  this  line  of  decoration.  The  large  wheels  were  used 
for  earrings,  and  the  smaller  ones  as  bangles  on  bracelets  and 
armlets. 

They  were  also  very  proud  of  being  able  to  carry  a  watch; 
but  their  clothing,  being  devoid  of  pockets,  lacked  the  most 
essential  convenience  for  this  purpose.  Consequently  some  of 
them  would,  in  derision,  fasten  the  chain  around  the  ankle  and 
let  the  watch  drag  on  the  ground. 

You  may  think  it  strange  that  I  took  any  notice  of  these 
little  incidents.  However  trifling  it  may  have  been  for  me  to 
observe  their  antics,  it  certainly  had  the  effect  partially  to 
relieve  me  of  the  great  weight  that  pressed  so  heavily  on  my 
mind.  I  looked  at  my  poor  little  starving  babe,  and  saw  that 
he  was  growing  thinner  every  day  from  pure  starvation.  I 
thought  of  my  husband  and  children,  whose  fate  I  might  never 
know.  Had  I  given  way  to  all  the  terrors  of  my  situation,  I 
should  not  have  been  spared  to  meet  my  family  or  had  any 
chance  of  escape,  but  should  have  met  instant  death  at  the 
hands  of  my  cruel  captors.  My  will  sustained  me  and  forced 
me  to  take  note  of  these  insignificant  things,  so  that  I  might 
not '  sink  or  give  up  to  the  dreadful  reality  I  was  passing 
through.  I  said  to  one  of  my  neighbor  captives,  when  we  were 
first  made  prisoners,  that  I  felt  just  like  singing,  so  near  did  I 
in  my  excitement  border  on  insanity.  I  have  thought  since 
many  times  that,  had  I  given  up  to  the  impulse  and  sung,  it 
would  have  been  a  wild  song  and  I  should  have  certainly 
crossed  the  border  of  insanity  and  entered  its  confines.  Even- 
now,  after  thirty-six  years,  I  look  back  and  shudder,  and  my 
heart  nearly  stops  beating,  when  these  awful  things  present 


408  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

themselves  fully  to  my  mind.     The  wonder  to  me  is  how  I  ever 
endured  it  all. 

The  warriors  were  away  all  the  time  we  were  in  Little 
Crow's  village.  They  came  back  in  time  to  escort  us  when  we 
moved.  They  told  us  they  had  burned  Fort  Ridgely  and  New 
Ulm,  and  would  soon  have  all  the  palefaces  in  the  state  killed. 
This  was  said,  no  doubt,  to  make  our  trials  more  painful,  and 
that  we  might  realize  the  full  extent  of  their  power. 

All  the  time  I  remained  in  Little  Crow's  village  my  bed, 
shawl,  and  sunbonnet,  covering  for  myself  and  babe,  both  night 
and  day,  consisted  of  only  one  poor  old  cotton  sheet;  and  on 
our  first  move  I  gave  it  to  an  Indian  to  carry  while  we  forded 
the  Redwood  river.  Indian-like,  he  kept  it.  Bo  my  squaw 
mother  gave  me  an  old,  dirty,  strong-scented  blanket,  which  I 
was  compelled  to  wear  around  me  in  squaw  fashion. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  my  captivity,  the  squaws  went  out  on 
the  slough  and  came  back  with  their  arms  full  of  wet  grass, 
Which  was  scattered  over  the  ground  inside  the  tepee  to  keep 
us  out  of  the  mud  caused  by  the  heavy  rains.  Every  night 
when  I  lay  down  on  this  wet  grass  to  sleep,  I  would  think  that 
perhaps  I  should  not  be  able  to  get  up  again;  and  sometimes 
I  became  almost  enough  discouraged  to  wish  that  I  would 
never  be  able  to  rise  again,  so  terrible  was  my  experience. 

I  was  frequently  sent  by  the  squaws  to  the  Minnesota  river, 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant,  to  bring  water  for  tepee  use.  At 
one  time  I  passed  several  tepees  where  Indians  and  half-breeds 
camped.  On  my  return  they  set  up  a  frightful  whoop  and 
yell,  which  nearly  stunned  me  with  fear.  However,  I  kept  on 
my  way,  drew  my  old  sheet  closer  around  me,  and  hurried  back 
as  fast  as  possible.  As  I  entered  our  tepee,  I  drew  a  long 
breath  of  relief.    I  was  not  sent  there  for  water  again. 

My  sunbonnet  was  taken  from  me  when  I  was  first  cap- 
tured. The  Indians  used  it  for  a  kinnikinick  bag.  Kinni- 
kinick  is  a  species  of  shrub  from  which  they  scrape  the  bark  to 
smoke  with  their  Indian  tobacco.  They  have  some  very  long 
pipes.  While  smoking  they  let  the  bowl  of  the  pipe  rest  on 
the  ground.  When  this  long  pipe  was  first  lighted,  the  cus- 
tom among  them  was  to  pass  it  around,  each  Indian  and  squaw 
in  the  company  taking  two  or  three  puffs.    I  never  saw  a 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.  4Q9 

squaw  smoke  except  when  this  long  pipe  was  passed  around. 
The  pipe  was  not  presented  to  me  to  take  a  puff .  I  believe  this 
pipe  was  known  as  the  pipe  of  peace. 

ON    THE    MARCH   WESTWARD. 

A  week  having  elapsed  since  we  were  taken  to  Little  Crow's 
village,  and  the  warriors  having  all  returned,  an  aged  Indian 
marched  through  the  village  calling  out  "Puckachee!  Puck- 
achee!" before  every  tepee;  and  then  the  squaws  immediately 
commenced  taking  down  the  tepees.  We  understood  that  the 
crier  had  given  command  for  a  move,  but  whither  we  did  not 
know.  Their  manner  of  moving  was  very  ingenious.  Every 
tepee  has  six  poles,  about  fifteen  feet  long,  which  were  fas- 
tened by  strips  of  rawhide  placed  around  the  pony's  neck  and 
breast,  three  poles  on  each  side  of  the  pony,  with  the  small 
ends  on  the  ground.  A  stick  was  tied  to  the  poles  behind  the 
pony  to  keep  them  together  and  spread  in  the  shape  of  a  V; 
and  on  the  stick  and  poles  bundles  of  various  kinds,  kettles, 
and  even  papooses  were  fastened  when  occasion  required.  It 
is  astonishing  to  see  the  amount  of  service  these  natives  will 
get  out  of  one  tepee  and  an  Indian  pony. 

After  getting  the  wagons  and  the  pole  and  pony  convey- 
ances loaded,  and  everything  else  in  readiness,  our  procession 
was  ordered  to  "puckachee;7'  and  away  we  went,  one  hundred 
and  seven  white  prisoners  and  about  the  same  number  of  half- 
breeds  who  called  themselves  prisoners  (they  may  have  been 
prisoners  in  one  sense  of  the  word),  eight  hundred  warriors, 
their  families,  and  luggage  of  various  kinds.  We  had  a  train 
three  miles  long.  On  either  side  of  our  procession  were 
mounted  warriors,  bedecked  with  war  paint,  feathers,  and  rib- 
bons; and  they  presented  a  very  gay  appearance,  galloping  back 
and  forth  on  each  side  of  this  long  train.  Their  orders  were  to 
shoot  any  white  prisoner  that  ventured  to  pass  through  their 
ranks.  This  was  done,  of  course,  to  intimidate  the  prisoners. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  varied  sights  this  motley  procession 
presented  to  my  view, — the  warrior  in  his  glory,  feasting  over 
the  fact  that  he  had  killed  or  captured  so  many  of  his  white 
enemies  and  thereby  gotten  his  revenge  for  the  great  wrongs 
he  had  suffered  from  them;  and  the  innocent  victims,  the  pris- 
oners, so  woe-begone,  so  heart-broken,  so  grotesque  and  awk- 


410  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

ward  in  their  Indian  dress,  paying  the  awful  penalty  that  the 
red  man  imagined  the  white  man  owed  him,  for  an  Indian  cares 
not  whether  it  is  the  perpetrator  of  a  wrong  or  not,  if  he  finds 
some  white  victim  whereon  to  wreak  his  revenge. 

Our  ears  were  almost  deafened  by  the  barking  of  dogs,  the 
lowing  of  cattle,  the  "Puckachee!  Whoa!  Gee!"  of  the  Indians 
in  driving  their  teams  of  oxen,  the  neighing  of  horses,  the 
braying  of  mules,  the  rattle  of  heavy  wagons.  In  fact,  to  me  it 
seemed  like  a  huge  chaotic  mass  of  living  beings  making  des- 
perate efforts  to  escape  some  great  calamity. 

On  we  went  with  the  utmost  speed,  the  Indians  seeming 
to  be  in  great  glee.  We  crossed  the  Eedwood  river  about  one 
mile  from  its  entrance  into  the  Minnesota  river.  The  stream, 
swollen  by  recent  heavy  rains  and  having  a  strong  current,  was 
difficult  and  even  dangerous  to  ford.  Mrs.  Earle,  her  daughter, 
and  myself,  locked  arms  while  crossing.  Mrs.  Earle's  feet  were 
once  taken  from  under  her,  and  she  would  have  gone  down 
stream  had  it  not  been  for  the  aid  received  from  us.  A  squaw 
carried  my  babe  across.  Every  Indian  and  squaw  seemed  to 
be  in  a  great  rush  to  cross  first.  They  dashed  pellmell  into 
the  water,  regardless  of  their  chances  to  land  their  teams. 

On  this  march  I  had  to  walk  and  carry  my  child.  I  car- 
ried him  on  my  arms,  which  was  very  disgusting  to  the  squaws. 
They  frequently  took  him  from  my  arms  and  placed  him  on 
my  back,  squaw-fashion,  but  he  always  managed  somehow  to 
slip  down  and  I  had  him  in  my  arms  again.  Before  noon  I 
became  so  tired  that  I  sat  down  to  rest  beside  the  road.  The 
squaws,  in  passing  me,  would  say  "Puckachee!"  But  I  re- 
mained sitting  about  ten  minutes,  I  should  think,  when  an  old 
Indian  came  to  me  and  took  hold  of  my  hand  to  help  me  up. 
I  shook  my  head.  He  then  had  the  train  halt,  or  a  part  of  it, 
a  short  time.  I  afterward  learned  that  a  council  was  held, 
the  object  being  to  come  to  some  agreement  as  to  how  they 
would  deal  with  me.  Some  thought  best  to  kill  me  and  my 
child;  others  thought  not.  The  final  conclusion  was  to  take 
my  child,  place  him  on  a  loaded  wagon,  and1  start  the  train. 
Then,  if  I  did  not  "puckachee,"  they  would  kill  me  and  the 
baby  also.  They  started,  after  putting  the  child  on  a  wagon, 
and  I  followed,  taking  hold  of  the  end-board  of  the  wagon, 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.  4;Q 

which  proved  to  be  a  great  help  to  me  to  the  end  of  our  day's 
march.  We  followed  up  the  Minnesota  river  valley  until  we 
came  to  Rice  creek,  reaching  that  point  about  sundown,  having 
traveled  nearly  eighteen  miles. 

Our  tepees  were  soon  pitched,  and  everything  quickly  set- 
tled into  the  usual  routine  of  tepee  life.  Then  I  wandered 
and  searched  around  among  the  tepees  to  see  if  I  could  find 
my  daughter  and  other  friends  who  helped  to  make  this  long 
train. 

After  a  short  walk  among  the  Indians  and  tepees,  I  was 
completely  overjoyed  at  meeting  my  daughter,  whom  I  had  not 
seen  since  we  forded  the  Minnesota  river  on  the  day  we  were 
made  captives.  It  was  like  seeing  one  risen  from  the  dead  to 
meet  her.  She  was  as  happy  as  myself.  And  oh!  how  pleased 
we  were  that  so  far  we  had  been  spared  not  only  from  death, 
but,  worse  than  that,  the  Indian's  lust.  Killing  beef  cattle, 
cooking,  and  eating,  seemed  to  be  done  in  great  glee  in  this 
camp. 

The  fourth  day  of  our  stay  here  the  command  "Puckachee!" 
was  sent  along  as  before,  and  our  gigantic  motley  cavalcade, 
with  its  strange  confusion,  was  soon  on  the  move  westward 
again.  We  passed  Yellow  Medicine  village,  near  which  the 
Upper  Sioux  Agency  was  located.  As  we  came  in  sight  of  it, 
we  could  see  the  barracks  burning,  also  the  mills  situated  at 
this  point  where  we  crossed  the  Yellow  Medicine  river.  John 
Other  Day,  who  was  a  friend  to  the  whites  and  was  the  means 
of  saving  sixty-two  lives,  had  his  house  burned  to  the  ground. 

W]e  stopped  after  traveling  a  distance  of  ten  miles,  and 
remained  there  eight  or  ten  days.  That  part  of  the  train  where 
I  was,  pitched  their  tepees  beside  a  mossy  slough,  from  which 
we  obtained  water  for  tepee  use.  The  first  few  days  the  water 
covered  the  moss  and  could  be  dipped  with  a  cup.  The  cattle 
were  allowed  to  stand  in  it,  and  dozens  of  little  Indians  were 
playing  in  it  every  day;  consequently  the  water  soon  became 
somewhat  unpalatable  to  the  fastidious.  However,  we  con- 
tinued to  use  it.  After  remaining  there  three  or  four  days, 
the  water  sank  below  the  moss.  To  get  it  then  we  had  to  go 
out  on  the  moss  and  stand  a  few  minutes,  when  the  water 
would  collect  about  our  feet.  It  is  astonishing  how  some  per- 
sons will  become  reconciled  to  such  things  when  forced  upon 
them. 


412  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

A  papoose  was  very  sick  here,  but  .nothing  was  given  it  to 
relieve  the  little  sufferer.  It  died  about  sundown.  They  made 
no  demonstrations  of  grief  when  it  died,  nor  mourned  in  the 
least;  but  after  an  hour  or  two  the  warriors  returned,  and  I 
suppose  that  when  notified  they  must  have  given  the  mourn- 
ing signal.  A  dismal  wailing  was  then  begun  and  was  con- 
tinued about  a  half  hour.  It  stopped  just  as  suddenly  as  it 
began,  and  not  another  sound  was  heard.  I  did  not  know 
when  or  where  the  remains  were  deposited,  so  stealthy  were 
they  in  their  movements. 

The  death  of  this  baby  caused  me  to  think  of  the  probable 
death  of  my  own.  The  little  fellow  was  a  mere  skeleton.  I 
was  only  able  to  get  a  small  quantity  of  milk  for  him  once  in 
two  days.  This  was  all  that  kept  him  from  starving.  To 
hold  him  and  watch  him,  knowing  that  he  was  gradually  pin- 
ing away,  was  what  I  hope  no  mother  will  ever  be  called  upon 
to  witness. 

The  usual  manner  of  the  wild  Sioux  in  disposing  of  their 
dead  was  to  wrap  the  body  in  blankets  and  place  it  on  a  scaf- 
fold made  of  poles  not  more  than  four  or  five  feet  from  the 
ground.  If  it  was  in  a  wooded  country,  the  scaffold  was  con- 
structed of  poles  placed  in  the  branches  of  low  trees.  During 
one  or  two  years  the  scaffold  and  wrap  containing  the  corpse 
were  kept  in  order.  Offerings  of  food  were  often  made  to  the 
ghost  which  was  supposed  to  linger  near  until  the  memory  of 
great  grief  became  dim.  Afterward  no  more  care  or  attention 
was  given  to  the  remains.  In  time  of  war,  when  any  of  their 
number  were  killed  in  battle  or  otherwise,  they  were,  if  pos- 
sible, removed  and  secreted  from  the  enemy.  They  were  very 
superstitious.  They  believed  that  if  their  killed  fell  into  the 
hands  of  their  enemy,  they  would  be  made  slaves  in  the  future 
life.  Famous  chiefs,  and  warriors  who  had  gained  great  no- 
toriety in  war  exploits,  were  sometimes  buried  sitting  astride 
a  live  pony.  They  were  buried  on  top  of  the  ground  by  plac- 
ing layer  after  layer  of  prairie  sod  around  and  over  them  until 
they  were  entirely  covered.  This  grave  or  mound  thereafter 
remained  intact;   nothing  was  allowed  to  destroy  it. 

It  was  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  see  the  Indians,  just 
before  going  out  on  a  raid  or  to  battle,  decorating  themselves 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.  4j[g 

with  feathers,  ribbons,  and  paint.  The  most  hideous  looking 
object  I  ever  beheld  was  a  large,  tall  Indian,  who  had  be- 
smeared his  face  all  over  with  vermillion  red,  and  then  had 
painted  a  stripe  of  green  aroiind  each  eye  and  his  month,  thickly 
dotting  these  stripes  with  bright  yellow  paint.  Others  would 
paint  their  fa^es  red,  and  then  apply  a  bright  coat  of  yellow, 
which  gave  it  a  sunset  hue,  after  which  a  blue  flower  was 
usually  painted  on  each  cheek.  Some  of  them  would  daub 
their  faces  with  something  that  looked  like  dark  blue  clay, 
and  then  would  make  zigzag  streaks  down  their  faces  with 
their  fingers,  leaving  a  stripe  of  clay  and, — well,  a  streak  of 
Indian. 

The  squaws  seemed  to  take  great  pride  in  ornamenting  their 
head  and  hair.  They  usually  parted  their  hair  in  the  middle  of 
the  forehead,  plaited  it  in  two  braids,  and  tied  the  ends  firmly 
with  buckskin  strings,  on  which  were  strung  three  large  glass 
beads  at  the  end  of  each  string.  Then  they  painted  a  bright  red 
streak  over  the  head  where  the  hair  was  parted.  I  saw  one 
squaw  with  five  holes  in  the  rim  of  each  ear,  from  which  hung 
five  brass  chains  dangling  on  her  shoulders,  with  a  dollar  gold 
piece  fastened  to  each  chain. 

After  the  warriors  had  completed  the  work  of  painting  to 
their  liking,  they  gathered  in  small  squads,  seemingly  for  con- 
sultation. They  presented  a  very  frightful  appearance.  Soon 
they  began  to  gather  in  larger  parties  and  start  off  in  different 
directions,  for  the  purpose,  as  I  supposed,  of  victimizing  some 
innocent  settler.  Many  cattle  were  now  being  brought  into 
camp,  but  no  captives;  which  led  me  to  believe  that  they 
massacred  indiscriminately  men,  women,  and  children,  and 
that  proved  to  have  been  the  case.  The  squaws  seemed  at  all 
times  to  be  highly  elated  over  the  good  success  the  Indians 
had  in  bringing  into  camp  beef  cattle;  "ta-ton-koes,"  they  called 
them.  They  were  also  well  pleased  with  the  false  reports 
which  the  Indians  made  in  stating  that  they  had  killed  or 
driven  nearly  all  the  white  people  from  Minnesota. 

To  save  labor  in  harvesting  and  hauling  corn  and  potatoes 
into  camp,  we  made  many  short  moves  from  one  enclosure  to 
another.  Cattle,  horses,  and  ponies,  were  turned  loose  in  the 
fields  of  grain.    As  soon  as  the  supply  was  exhausted,  wTe 


414  MINNESOTA     HISTORICAL     SOCIETY     COLLECTIONS. 

moved  on.  At  the  end  of  one  remove,  I  saw  an  old  squaw  with 
a  very  nice  black  silk  shawl,  which  she  had  worm  over  her 
head,  squaw-fashion,  while  on  the  move,  climb  over  a  rail  fence 
and  throw  the  shawl  on  the  ground  in  the  potato  field.  Then 
with  all  her  might  she  commenced  digging  or  scratching  out 
potatoes  with  her  hands,  throwing  them  on  the  shawl  until 
she  had  gathered  nearly  a  half  bushel,  after  which  she  gathered 
up  the  corners  of  the  shawl,  threw  them  over  her  shoulder, 
and  hurried  away  to  the  campfire. 

For  one  reason  we  were  always  glad  to  move;  it  furnished 
us  a  clean  camp  ground  for  a  few  days.  But  oh!  the  thought 
that  I  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  savage  Indians,  moving 
on  farther  and  farther  from  relatives,  friends,  and  civiliza- 
tion, into  the  far  Northwestern  wilds,  inhabited  only  by  cruel 
savages  who  live  in  tepees,  and  cold  weather  coming  on!  I 
met  an  old  Frenchman  who  had  married  a  squaw  and  had  lived 
with  the  Indians  a  long  time.  He  could  speak  a  little  English. 
Judge  what  my  feelings  must  have  been  when  he  said  to  me, 
"I  'spect  you'll  all  die  when  cold  weather  comes,"  meaning  the 
white  captives. 

Many  times  have  I  reluctantly  retired  for  the  night  on  the 
cold  damp  ground  with  my  child  on  my  arm,  unable  to  sleep, 
thinking  of  friends  and  home.  If  by  chance  my  eyes  were 
closed  in  sleep,  I  would  sometimes  dream  of  seeing  Indians 
perpetrating  some  act  of  cruelty  on  innocent  white  captives. 
Occasionally  I  would  dream  of  having  made  my  escape  from 
my  captors,  and  was  safe  among  my  relatives  and  friends  in  a 
civilized  country.  But  on  awaking  from  my  slumbers,  oh!  the 
anguish  of  mind,  the  heart-crushing  pangs  of  grief,  to  again 
fully  realize  that  I  was  a  prisoner  still  among  the  Indians,  not 
knowing  how  soon  I  would  be  subjected  to  the  cruelties  of  these 
revengeful  savages! 

In  order  to  make  myself  as  agreeable  as  possible  to  them, 
I  feigned  cheerfulness,  and  took  particular  notice  of  their 
papooses,  hoping  that  by  so  doing  I  would  receive  better  treat- 
ment from  them,  which  I  think  had  the  desired  effect.  Once 
I  was  unable  to  suppress  my  feelings  while  in  the  presence  of 
my  Indian  father,  who  was  quick  to  observe  my  gushing  tears 
and  heart  throbs,  which  must  have  excited  his  sympathy  for 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.  4^5 

me.  He  said,  through  an  interpreter,  that  he  would  give  me 
bread  and  let  me  go;  "but,"  said  he,  "the  warriors  will  find  you 
and  kill  you," — as  much  as  to  say,  "You  had  better  remain 
with  us."  This  was  after  we  had  gone  so  far  from  white  set- 
tlements that  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  me  to  make 
my  way  on  foot  and  alone  through  the  Indian  country. 

While  in  the  camp  beside  the  mossy  slough,  Little  Grow 
and  twenty  or  thirty  of  his  chief  warriors  had  a  war  council 
and  dog  feast.  They  occupied  a  place  on  the  prairie  a  short 
distance  outside  of  the  camp  ground,  where  they  seated  them- 
selves on  the  ground  in  a  circle  around  a  large  kettle,  hung 
over  a  fire,  in  which  the  carcass  of  a  fat  dog  was  being  boiled. 
The  United  States  flag  was  gracefully  waving  over  their  de- 
testable heads.  What  a  contrast  between  this  exhibition  of 
hostile  Indians  and  the  gathering  of  loyal  citizens  of  the  United 
States  under  the  stars  and  stripes,  celebrating  our  nation's 
birthday! 

These  dusky  savages  seemed  to  have  parliamentary  rules 
of  their  own.  One  would  rise,  with  stolid  dignity,  and  deliver 
his  harangue,  after  which  they  one  by  one  would  dip  their 
ladles  into  the  kettle  of  dog  soup,  until  each  had  served  him- 
self to  soup.  Then  came  another  speech  and  another  dip  by 
all.  Thus  they  alternated  until  all  or  nearly  all  had  their  say 
and  had  their  appetite  satisfied  with  canine  soup.  Dog  soup 
by  them  is  considered  to  be  a  superb  and  honored  dish.  ISfone 
but  Indians  of  high  rank  were  allowed  to  partake. 

Dog  beef  was  sometimes  cooked  by  hanging  the  dog  in  a 
horizontal  position  by  both  fore  and  hind  legs  under  a  pole 
over  a  fire,  without  being  dressed,  except  that  the  entrails 
were  removed.  When  dogs  are  cooked  in  this  manner,  all  are 
allowed  to  partake. 

These  natives  generally  used  their  fingers  in  conveying  food 
to  their  mouths.  If  their  meat  was  too  hard  to  crush  with 
their  teeth,  or  too  tough  to  tear  with  their  fingers  and  teeth, 
they  would  firmly  hold  the  meat  in  their  teeth  and  one  hand, 
and,  with  a  sharp  knife  in  the  other  hand,  cut  the  meat  between 
the  teeth  and  fingers. 

On  the  eighth  or  tenth  day  of  our  stay  here  the  word  "Puck- 
achee!"  greeted  our  ears,  and  everything  was  soon  in  readiness' 


416  MINNESOTA     HISTORICAL     SOCIETY     COLLECTIONS. 

for  a  move,  but  it  was  a  very  short  one.  We  stopped  beside  a 
small  stream  called  Hazel  Run.  Beside  this  stream  had  been 
built  residences  for  missionaries,  which  were  burned  to  the 
ground  soon  after  our  tepees  were  pitched. 

After  remaining  here  two  or  three  days,  we  were  given 
orders  as  before  to  move  on,  and  went  only  three  or  four  miles. 
On  the  way  we  passed  several  small  lakes,  and  our  train  was 
stopped  long  enough  near  one  of  them  to  allow  the  squaws  to 
do  some  washing.  This  was  the  first  washing  that  had  been 
done  since  my  stay  with  them.  The  squaws'  mode  of  washing 
their  wardrobes  was  to  walk  into  water  two  or  three  feet  deep, 
then  quickly  lower  and  raise  themselves,  and  at  the  same  time 
rub  with  their  hands.  Their  wet  clothing  was  allowed  to  re- 
main on  them  to  dry.  The  squaws,  in  washing  their  faces, 
would  take  water  in  their  mouths,  spurt  it  into  their  hands 
and  rub  it  over  their  faces,  but  used  no  towel. 

Here  the  squaws  began  to  pay  much  attention  to  my  poor 
starving  babe.  They  would  put  their  hands  on  his  head  and 
say,  over  and  over,  "Washta,  washta  do,"  meaning  "good,  very 
good." 

When  we  stopped  to  pitch  the  tepees  again,  the  Indians 
had  what  they  called  a  horse  dance.  I  did  not  learn  whether 
it  celebrated  any  particular  event,  or  was  merely  for  amuse- 
ment. Before  they  commenced  it,  they  decked  their  ponies 
with  cedar  boughs,  and  the  warriors  with  feathers  and  rib- 
bons. Then  each  warrior  mounted  his  pony  and  paraded 
around  in  a  meaningless  manner,  as  it  seemed  to  me. 

Soon  after  this  horse  dance,  my  squaw  mother  came  to  me 
in  a  very  excited  manner,  took  hold  of  me  and  fairly  dragged 
me  into  the  tepee,  telling  me  that  the  Sissetons  were  coming 
to  carry  me  off.  She  hastily  threw  an  old  blanket  over  me, 
and  there  I  remained  with  my  babe  in  my  arms  for  hours.  I 
finally  fell  asleep  and  must  have  slept  quite  a  while.  Soon 
after  waking  I  was  given  to  understand  that  I  might  go  out. 
I  learned  that  there  were  about  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  of 
the  Sisseton  tribe  with  us.  They  remained  three  days,  and 
left  camp  taking  nothing  but  a  few  ponies  with  them. 

While  in  this  camp  my  daughter  came  to  me,  crying  as 
though  her  heart  would  break,  and  told  me  an  Indian  was 


418  MINNESOTA     HISTORICAL.     SOCIETY     COLLECTIONS. 

dressed  in  blankets,  with  their  faces  shockingly  painted  with 
war  paint  and  their  heads  decorated  with  long  feathers. 
Surely  they  presented  a  fearful  sight.  Each  had  a  stick  about 
two  feet  long.  They  paid  no  attention  to  me,  but  seated  them- 
selves, Indian  style,  on  the  ground  in  a  circle  in  front  of  me,. 
and  beat  time  by  striking  on  the  ground  with  their  sticks,  at 
the  same  time  singing,  or  saying,  "Ki-o-wah-nay,  ki-o-wah-nay, 

ki-o-wah-nay,    yaw-ah ah."     After    repeating    this    three 

times,  they  would  give  a  loud  whoop  and  a  sharp  yell.  This 
performance  was  continued  three  or  four  hours.  There  was 
no  variation  in  the  modulation  of  their  voices  during  all  this 
time.  The  horrors  of  this  experience  I  can  never  forget.  It 
seemed  as  though  my  reason  would  be  dethroned  under  this 
terrible,  monotonous  chant.  When  they  stopped  and  in  single 
file  walked  out  of  the  tepee,  I  clasped  my  hand  to  my  whirling 
brain  and  wondered  if  a  more  dreary  or  greater  mental  suffer- 
ing could  or  would  ever  befall  me. 

CAMP  RELEASE. 

A  few  short  removes  now  brought  us  to  what  proved  to  be 
the  end  of  our  journey,  Gamp  Kelease.  As  soon  as  the  tepees 
were  set  the  squaws  and  Indians  commenced  running  bullets. 
They  had  bar  lead,  bullet  moulds,  and  a  ladle  to  melt  lead  in. 
They  also  had  a  large  amount  of  powder  which  they  had  plun- 
dered, so  they  were  well  prepared  to  make  some  defense. 
They  gave  us  to  understand  that  they  expected  to  have  a  bat- 
tle in  a  short  time  with  the  white  soldiers.  Also  they  gave 
us  the  cheering  information  that,  if  the  white  soldiers  made 
an  attack  on  them,  we,  the  prisoners,  would  be  placed  in  front 
of  them,  so  that  our  rescuers'  bullets  would  strike  us  and 
thereby  give  them  a  chance  to  escape  in  case  of  their  defeat. 
We  were  now  allowed  to  visit  our  friends  a  little  while  every 
day,  and  it  was  understood  among  us  that  if  such  proved  to  be 
the  case  we  would  lie  fiat  on  the  ground  and  take  our  chances. 

The  expected  battle  was  fought  on  the  23d  day  of  Septem- 
ber at  Wood  Lake,  eighteen  miles  distant  from  our  camp,  the 
Indians  making  the  attack  on  General  Sibley's  forces.  A  day 
or  two  before  the  battle  there  was  a  disagreement  among  the 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.  4^7 

coming  that  night  to  claim  her  for  his  wife.  I  did  not  know 
what  would  be  best  to  do.  After  thinking  the  matter  over, 
I  concluded  to  consult  with  a  half-breed  we  called  "Black  Rob- 
inson" in  regard  to  the  trouble.  After  hearing  what  I  had  to 
say,  he  remarked,  "An  Indian  is  nothing  but  a  hog,  anyway. 
I  will  see  what  can  be  done  about  it."  I  returned  and  told 
my  daughter  what  he  said,  and  she  returned  to  her  tepee  home, 
leaving  me  to  worry  over  the  great  danger  that  threatened 
her.  Time  and  time  again  I  thought,  Will  this  terrible  calam- 
ity that  has  come  to  us  ever  end?  Fortunately,  we  heard  no 
more  of  this  trouble. 

While  walking  out  one  afternoon,  my  attention  was  called 
to  the  way  in  which  the  squaws  sometimes  put  their  papooses 
to  sleep.  They  were  fastened  on  a  board  about  eight  inches 
wide,  with  a  f ootrest,  and  ornamented  with  net  work  at  the 
head,  made  of  willow  twigs.  They  were  wrapped  to  the  board, 
with  their  arms  straight  down  by  their  sides  and  their  feet  on 
the  footrest,  by  winding  strips  of  cloth  around  them.  They 
cry  and  shake  their  heads  a  few  minutes  before  going  to  sleep. 
In  warm  weather,  unless  it  was  storming,  they  were  placed 
outside  to  sleep,  in  nearly  an  erect  position. 

The  Indians  and  squaws  had  rules  of  etiquette  which  they 
strictly  observed,  and  would  frequently  admonish  me  concern- 
ing them.  They  would  tell  me  how  to  sit  on  the  ground ;  how 
to  stand;  and  how  to  go  in  and  out  the  tepee  door,  which  was 
very  low.  I  think  they  must  have  considered  me  a  dull  scholar, 
for  I  could  not  conform,  or  would  not,  to  all  their  notions  of 
gentility.  The  Indians  would  frequently  have  a  hearty  laugh 
to  see  me  go  in  and  out  the  tepee  door.  They  said  I  went  in 
just  like  a  frog.  The  tepees  were  of  uniform  size,  about  twelve 
feet  in  diameter  on  the  ground,  with  a  door  about  three  feet 
high,  that  is,  merely  a  parting  of  the  tent  cloth  or  hides,  of 
which  latter  the  tepees  were  usually  made. 

One  dark  and  dreary  rainy  day  I  was  put  into  a  tepee  made 
of  buffalo  hides.  The  perfume  of  the  hides  was  not  very  pleas- 
ant to  the  smell;  however,  it  accorded  well  with  my  other 
surroundings.  Why  I  was  put  into  this  tepee  I  know  not, 
unless  it  was  to  be  entertained  by  a  Sioux  quartette.  I  had 
only  been  in  there  a  short  time  when  four  warriors  came  in, 

27 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.  4^9 

Indians.  Some  of  them,  I  think,  were  in  favor  of  surrendering 
to  Sibley.  But  a  large  majority  were  opposed  to  it,  conse- 
quently a  removal  of  the  hostile  Indians  farther  west  took 
place;  how  far,  I  did  not  know.  The  captives  they  had  were 
nearlv  all  left  with  those  wTho  wished  to  surrender. 

We  could  distinctly  hear  the  report  of  muskets  during  this 
battle.  We  were  now  in  the  greatest  danger  of  all  our  cap- 
tivity; for,  with  defeat  of  the  Indians,  they  wTere  likely  to  re- 
turn and  slay  all  the  white  captives  and  perhaps  some  of  the 
half-breeds.  The  latter  appeared  to  be  somewhat  alarmed, 
and  consequently  we  were  all  put  to  work  by  "Black  Robin- 
son," throwing  up  breastworks.  I  was  not  a  soldier,  but  sol- 
dier never  worked  with  better  will  than  I  did  to  get  those  for- 
tifications completed.  I  used  a  shovel;  my  squaw  mother  used 
an  old  tin  pan.  The  remains  of  those  breastworks  are  still 
visible,  I  am  told.  When  I  worked  on  them  I  had  no  idea  that 
I  should  ever  take  any  pride  in  the  remembrance  of  my  labor 
on  them,  but  I  do,  although  at  the  time  I  felt  as  though  it  would 
be  as  well,  were  I  digging  my  own  "narrow  house."  We  can- 
not afford  to  part  with  the  remembrance  of  any  incidents  of 
our  lives,  even  though  they  were  heavily  burdened  with  suf- 
fering and  sorrow. 

We  were  also  made  to  construct  breastworks  inside  the 
tepee.  We  sank  a  hole  in  the  ground  about  eight  feet  in  diam- 
eter and  two  feet  deep,  and  placed  the  earth  around  the  pit, 
thereby  increasing  the  depth  to  about  four  feet.  In  this  den 
eleven  of  us  spent  three  nights.  While  the  battle  was  rag- 
ing, the  squaws  went  out  with  one-horse  wagons  to  take  am- 
munition to  the  warriors  and  to  bring  in  the  dead  and  wounded 
Indians.  Once  when  they  returned  one  squaw  was  giving 
vent  to  her  feelings  by  chanting,  or  singing,  "Yah!  ho!  ho!" 
On  making  inquiry,  I  was  told  that  her  husband  had  been 
killed.  On  the  next  two  days  after  the  battle  we  were  almost 
constantly  looking  and  longing  to  see  the  soldiers  make  their 
appearance  on  the  distant  prairie.  The  hostile  Indians  had  re- 
turned to  their  camp  before  sunset  on  the  day  of  the  battle, 
and  it  was  evident  to  us  by  their  appearance  that  they  had 
met  with  defeat.  But  each  day  the  sun  went  down,  night 
came  on,  and  our  expectation  and  ardent  desires  were  not 
realized.  Therefore  we  were  compelled  through  fear  once  more 


420  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL.     SOCIETY     COLLECTIONS. 

to  enter  our  own  tepee  and  the  dismal  hole  in  the  ground 
before  mentioned,  to  spend  the  night,  with  fearful  forebodings 
that  the  hostile  Sioux  might  return  and  kill  us  before  morn- 
ing. Our  tepees  were  guarded  during  the  night  by  Indians 
who  pretended  to  be  friendly,  but  I  could  not  sleep. 

Morning  came  with  bright  sunshine  on  the  day  of  our  de- 
liverance, the  26th  of  September.  Being  so  anxious  to  be  de- 
livered from  our  present  surroundings,  we  could  not  refrain 
from  gazing,  as  we  had  done  on  the  two  former  days,  nearly 
all  the  time  in  the  direction  of  the  battle  ground,  to  see  who 
should  get  the  first  view  of  our  expected  rescuers.  About  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  to  our  great  joy  and  admiration,  the 
glimmer  of  the  soldiers'  bayonets  was  first  seen  and  pointed  out 
to  us  by  the  Indians,  before  we  could  see  the  men.  As  they 
came  nearer  and  nearer,  our  hearts  beat  quicker  and  quicker 
at  the  increased  prospect  of  our  speedy  release. 

When  they  had  come  within  about  a  half  mile  of  our  camp, 
the  Indians  sent  a  number  of  us  to  the  Minnesota  river  for 
water,  telling  us  the  palefaces  would  be  thirsty.  They  thought, 
as  did  the  captives,  that  the  soldiers  would  come  right  among 
us  and  camp  near  by;  but  they  marched  past  about  a  half 
mile,  where  they  pitched  their  tents.  A  flag  of  truce  was  flying 
over  every  tepee.  After  the  soldiers  had  passed  by,  some  of 
the  Indians  came  in  laughing,  saying  the  white  soldiers  were 
such  old  men  that  they  had  lost  all  their  teeth.  They  had  an 
idea  that  all  of  our  young  men  were  engaged  in  our  civil  war. 
The  papooses  were  skirling  around  with  a  flag  of  truce,  shout- 
ing "Sibilee,  Sibilee!"  as  though  they  thought  it  great  sport. 

While  the  soldiers  were  pitching  their  tents,  the  general 
sent  orders  for  us  to  remain  in  the  tepees  until  he  came  for 
us.  This  was  a  very  hard  command  for  us  to  obey,  now  that 
an  opportunity  came  for  us  to  flee  from  our  captors. 

The  tepees  were  set  in  a  circle.  After  about  one  and  a 
half  hours,  General  Sibley  marched  his  command  inside  of  this 
circle.  The  general  now  held  a  consultation  with  some  of  the 
Indians,  after  which  the  soldiers  were  formed  into  a  hollow 
square.  The  captives  were  then  taken  into  this  square  by  the 
Indian  who  claimed  to  have  protected  them  during  their  cap- 
tivity, including  also  those  captives  who  had  been  left  with 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.  4£1 

them  by  tke  hostile  Indians.  Some  had  only  one  or  two  to 
deliver  up;  others  had  eight  or  ten.  Those  who  had  the  larg- 
est number  to  deliver  brought  them  forward  in  a  haughty  man- 
ner.   My  Indian  father  had  seven  captives  to  give  up. 

After  all  the  white  captives  were  delivered  to  the  general 
in  military  style,  the  order  was  given  to  move  to  the  soldiers' 
tents.  I  am  sure  every  captive  there  offered  up  fervent  and 
grateful  thanksgiving  that  the  hour  of  release  had  come.  Right 
well  did  this  Camp  Release  come  by  its  title.  I  believe  every 
adult  captive  has  a  warm  place  in  her  memory  for  this  spot  of 
prairie  land,  where  so  many  destinies  hung  by  a  thread,  with 
the  balance  ready  to  go  for  or  against  us.  Every  Indian,  after 
having  delivered  his  last  captive,  walked  directly  out  of  this 
hollow  square,  and  was  conducted  by  a  soldier  to  where  he,  I 
supposed,  was  kept  under  guard. 

This  giving  up  or  release  of  the  captives  was  one  of  the 
most  impressive  scenes  that  it  has  ever  been  my  lot  to  witness. 
Many  of  my  fellow  captives  were  shedding  tears  of  joy  as  they 
were  being  delivered  up.  After  reaching  the  tents  prepared 
for  us,  many  commenced  laughing;  oh!  such  joyful  peals  from 
some,  and  from  others  came  a  jerking,  hysterical  laugh.  Oth- 
ers were  rapidly  talking  and  gesticulating  with  friends  whom 
they  had  just  met,  as  if  fairly  insane  with  delight  in  meeting 
relatives  and  friends  and  to  be  freed  from  their  savage  cap- 
tors. And  again  there  were  others  clapping  their  hands  and 
whirling  around  in  wild  delight  over  the  happy  good  fortune 
that  had  come  to  us. 

As  for  myself,  I  could  only  remain  silent,  as  if  an  inspira- 
tion had  come  to  me  from  the  great  beyond.  I  gazed  at  this 
assembly  of  released  captives  while  in  their  manifestations  of 
joy  and  happiness,  tinctured  with  grief  from  the  loss  of  dear 
friends  and  relatives,  and  in  quiet  satisfaction  drew  the  fresh 
free  air  into  my  lungs  and  thought  what  contentment  and 
peace  freedom  brings  to  one  who  has  been  a  captive  among  the 
wild  savages  of  the  Northwest.  None  but  those  who  have 
passed  through  the  terrible  experience  can  ever  know  the  varied 
feelings  and  emotion  which  the  deliverance  produced. 

We  still  wore  our  squaw  suits.  Some  of  us  were  given 
quarters  in  what  were  called  or  known  as  Sibley  tents,  and 


422  MINNESOTA     HISTORICAL,     SOCIETY     COLLECTIONS. 

others  in  smaller  tents.  It  was  now  about  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  by  reason  of  our  not  haying  had  dinner,  the 
soldiers  treated  us  to  a  lunch,  consisting  of  light  biscuit  and 
apple  sauce.  It  was  not  served  after  modern  style.  We  sim- 
ply gathered  around  two  large  dishpans  containing  our  lunch, 
and  each  helped  herself.  When  supper  time  came  the  soldiers 
brought  into  our  tent,  prepared  to  be  served,  an  abundance  of 
rice,  hardtack,  coffee  and  meat.  My  lunch  was  the  most  de- 
licious repast  I  ever  enjoyed,  it  being  the  first  white  cooking 
I  had  tasted  since  I  ate  breakfast  in  my  own  home  the  day  I 
was  captured;  but  my  appetite  for  supper  entirely  failed  me 
in  consequence  of  having  had  the  late  lunch,  and  because  of 
the  excitement  produced  by  our  release.  After  the  first  day 
of  our  release,  a  campfire  was  provided  us  and  we  had  the  priv- 
ilege of  doing  our  own  cooking.  A  guard  was  placed  around 
our  tents  and  campfire,  the  object,  I  suppose,  being  to  keep 
away  all  would-be  intruders. 

My  mind  was  now  involuntarily  absorbed  in  the  strange 
sights  of  the  afternoon.  I  could  scarcely  think  a  moment  in 
regard  to  the  condition  or  whereabouts  of  my  family.  I  had 
not  learned  whether  they  all  succeeded  in  making  their  escape 
or  were  all  killed  and  scalped  by  the  Indians. 

We  remained  with  the  soldiers  ten  days  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  our  testimony  against  the  Indians.  The  soldiers  were 
very  kind  to  us,  they  were  always  careful  to  provide  campfires 
for  us?  and  seemed  at  all  times  to  take  delight  in  making  us 
feel  at  home,  or  at  least  among  civilized  people.  Three  differ- 
ent times  during  our  stay  with  them  they  serenaded  us  with 
songs.  As  the  sweet  sounds  of  civilization  greeted  my  ear, 
the  great  contrast  between  freedom  and  captivity  among  sav- 
ages grew  more  prominent.  I  shall  always  hold  these  brave 
soldiers  in  most  grateful  remembrance. 

RETURN  THROUGH  ST.  PETER  AND  ST.  PAUL  TO  WISCONSIN. 

In  the  forenoon  of  our  last  day  with  the  soldiers,  Mrs.  Da- 
vid Carrothers,  Mrs.  Earle,  and  myself,  were  out  consulting 
with  a  soldier  (Mrs.  Carrothers'  brother)  on  the  chances  or 
prospect  of  our  getting  to  St.  Peter.     After  having  talked  the 


CAPTIVITY    AMONG    THE    SIOUX,    1862.  423 

matter  over,  and  when  we  were  returning  to  our  tent,  I  caught 
sight  of  my  husband,  of  whom  I  had  not  known  whether  he 
was  dead  or  alive,  accompanied  by  J.  W.  Earle.  I  leave  you 
to  imagine  our  feelings  at  this  meeting, — words  would  be  in- 
adequate. 

Mr.  Earle  and  my  husband,  having  learned  of  the  release 
of  their  families,  had  engaged  Mr.  William  Mills,  then  of  St. 
Peter,  to  go  with  a  four-horse  team  with  them  to  Camp  Re- 
lease, a  distance  of  about  120  miles,  for  the  purpose  of  bring- 
ing their  families  to  St.  Peter.  They  arrived  at  Camp  Release 
about  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  fifth  day  of  October. 
Soon  after  dinner  we  started  with  our  husbands,  children,  and 
Mr.  Mills,  for  St.  Peter,  without  an  escort. 

Whether  or  not  our  husbands  were  proud  of  us  in  our 
squaw  dress  we  did  not  stop  to  question,  for  we  were  so  glad  to 
get  started  for  civilisation  that  we  did  not  take  a  second 
thought  as  to  our  clothing,  but  rode  triumphantly  into  St. 
Peter  in  squaw  costume.  Danger  was  thick  around  us  on 
our  journey.  Consequently  Mr.  Mills  hurried  his  team,  forded 
the  Redwood  river  soon  after  dark  in  the  same  place  where 
we  crossed  when  going  west  with  the  Indians,  and  stopped  for 
the  night  in  a  small  Indian  log  hut. 

The  three  men  stood  on  guard  until  two  o'clock,  when,  fear- 
ing the  presence  of  stray  Indians,  we  became  uneasy  and  con- 
cluded to  journey  on  in  the  night.  We  arrived  at  the  Lower 
Sioux  Agency  about  sunrise,  or  where  the  village  and  the 
agency  buildings  had  been  located.  All  had  been  destroyed 
by  fire.  Here  we  visited  the  garden  that  had  belonged  to  Dr. 
Humphrey,  who  was  killed,  and  also  all  the  members  of  his 
family,  while  trying  to  make  their  escape,  excepting  one  son. 
We  found  some  onions  and  tomatoes,  and  boiled  a  few;  with 
the  government  rations,  they  made  quite  a  good  breakfast. 

While  there  I  could  almost  see  where  our  house  was  lo- 
cated on  Beaver  creek,  and  had  a  pretty  fair  view  of  the  prairie 
over  which  we  were  so  frightfully  chased  by  hostile  Sioux  In- 
dians. The  sight  brought  back  vivid  remembrance  in  my  mind 
of  just  what  transpired  there  on  the  18th  day  of  August.  Be- 
fore my  mental  eye  was  unrolled  a  panorama  of  fearful  deeds 


424  MINNESOTA     HISTORICAL.     SOCIETY     COLLECTIONS. 

perpetrated  by  the  wild  men  of  the  Northwest,  shockingly 
painted,  and  having  their  heads  decorated  with  feathers  ac- 
cording to  their  rank;  also  the  cruelties  committed  on  inno- 
cent white  people  on  that  memorable  day.  I  could  see  the 
Indians  as  they  surrounded  us  with  their  guns  presented  at  the 
men,  demanding  of  them  a  surrender  of  all  their  teams,  etc:,  to 
them.  I  could  see  men,  women,  boys  and  girls,  in  almost  every 
direction  in  alarmed  haste,  closely  pursued  by  Indians  shooting 
at  them.  I  could  see  one  man  fall  here,  another  there,  and 
to  all  appearance  Indians  in  the  act  of  taking  off  their  scalps. 
I  could  see  two  men  holding  up  a  flag  of  truce  over  a  wagon 
in  which  a  sick  woman  and  her  two  children  lay  on  a  bed.  I 
saw  again  the  blaze  and  smoke  arising  from  the  burning  bed, 
where  Mrs.  Henderson  and  her  two  children  were  put  to  death 
in  a  shocking  manner.  I  saw  my  son  as  he  passed  me  in  great 
haste  when  he  said  to  me,  "Ma!  run  faster,  or  they  will  catch 
you."  Poor  fellow;  his  remains  were  never  found.  Then,  after 
the  first  fright  was  over,  and  the  men  and  boys  and  their  pur- 
suers were  out  of  sight,  I  could  see  myself  with  other  captives 
walking  back  into  captivity  among  a  barbarous  people,  es- 
corted by  our  cruel  captors. 

We  still  journeyed  on  the  south  side  of  the  Minnesota  river 
until  we  reached  the  ferry  near  Fort  Bidgely,  where  we  crossed 
the  river,  arriving  at  the  fort  about  noon.  On  the  road  be- 
tween the  agency  and  the  fort,  we  saw  the  body  of  a  man  who 
had  recently  been  killed,  of  which  we  notified  the  military 
officials,  who  soon  sent  a  burial  party. 

We  took  dinner  at  the  fort,  and  then  traveled  on  until  sun- 
set, and  stopped  with  a  German  over  night.  I  think  this  was 
the  first  house  we  passed  where  people  lived.  During  the  night 
rain  came  down  in  torrents,  which  made  the  roads  very  bad. 
Still  we  traveled  on  in  the  morning,  and  arrived  at  St.  Peter 
just  in  the  shade  of  evening.  In  the  outskirts  of  the  village 
we  were  halted  by  the  picket's  "Who  goes  there?'7  Our  an- 
swer was  satisf actory,  and  we  were  then  allowed  to  go  on,  and 
at  nine  o'clock  were  being  hospitably  entertained  by  a  Mrs. 
Fisher.  Here  we  exchanged  our  squaw  outfit  for  new  calico 
dresses,  and  really  began  to  feel  as  though  we  were  white  folks 
again. 


CAPTIVITY  AMONG  THE  SIOUX,  1862. 


425 


My  babe's  weight  was  now  just  eight  pounds,  and  he  was 
a  little  past  seyen  months  old.  I  found  my  twelve-year-old 
son  here  safe  and  well.  Our  family  was  now  all  together,  ex- 
cept our  oldest  son,  whose  life  was  taken  to  satisfy  the  revenge 
of  the  Sioux  warrior.  My  mind  was  now  at  rest,  at  least  as 
to  the  whereabouts  of  my  family,  and  we  could  begin  to  plan 
as  to  what  we  should  do.  We  were  among  strangers  and  had 
but  very  little  money.  Our  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  farming  im- 
plements, household  furniture,  etc.,  to  the  value  of  nearly  three 
thousand  dollars,  had  been  all  taken  or  destroyed  by  the 
Indians.  * 

One  afternoon,  while  my  husband  and  I  were  conferring 
together  about  what  was  best  for  us  to  do,  we  were  agreeably 
surprised  by  meeting  an  old  neighbor  just  from  our  Wisconsin 
home,  who  had  volunteered  to  carry  financial  aid  to  us,  which 
had  been  donated  by  the  neighbors.  This  aid  was  gratefully 
received  and  was  a  surprise  to  us.  We  now  could  buy  some 
necessary  articles  of  clothing  and  pay  our  fare  back  to  Wis- 
consin. 

After  remaining  in  St.  Peter  about  two  weeks,  we  took  a 
steamboat  for  St.  Paul.  While  there,  at  the  Merchants'  Hotel, 
a  gentleman  (a  stranger  to  us)  called  to  talk  with  Mrs.  Earle 
and  myself  about  our  captivity.  After  a  short  conversation, 
he  excused  himself  for  a  few  minutes,  and  on  his  return  gave 
each  of  us  fifteen  dollars.  The  landlady  was  very  kind  to  us, 
and  gave  me  many  useful  articles  of  clothing,  which,  as  we 
were  very  destitute,  were  more  than  acceptable.  We  remained 
in  St.  Paul  three  or  four  days,  waiting  for  a  boat  to  take  us 
to  La  Crosse.  There  were  no  charges  made  against  us  for  the 
hotel  bill. 

It  was  near  the  middle  of  November  when  we  took  the 
boat  for  La  Crosse,  where  we  arrived  at  noon.  Here  we 
went  aboard  the  cars  for  our  old  home  in  Columbia  county, 
Wisconsin.  On  our  arrival  at  the  depot  at  Pardeeville,  the 
platform  was  thronged  with  relatives  and  friends  to  greet  us, 
as  restored  to  them  from  a  worse  fate  than  death. 

We  remained  there  until  the  following  March,  when  we 
returned  to  Rochester,  Minnesota.     The  Indians  having  been 


426  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL     SOCIETY     COLLECTIONS. 

subdued  and  peace  restored,  we  ventured  back  in  the  fall  of 
1865  to  our  Renville  county  home,  from  which  we  were  so 
suddenly  driven  by  the  Indians,  and  we  have  ever  since  con- 
tinued to  live  in  this  county. 

The  day  of  retributive  justice  came  to  some  of  the  blood- 
thirsty savages.  Little  Crow,  while  on  a  horse-stealing  expedi- 
tion on  the  frontier,  accompanied  by  his  son  and  other  Indians, 
was  shot  and  killed  by  a  Mr.  Lampson,  on  July  3d,  1863,  six 
miles  north  of  Hutchinson.  A  military  commission  was  estab- 
lished at  Camp  Release,  in  which  over  three  hundred  murder- 
ous Indians  were  recommended  to  be  hanged;  but  the  final  de- 
cision of  President  Lincoln  was  that  only  thirty-eight  of  them 
should  be  executed.  The  day  of  execution  was  ordered  to  be 
Friday,  the  26th  day  of  December,  1862,  at  Mankato. 

The  gallows  was  built  in  the  shape  of  a  rectangle.  Ten  In- 
dians were  on  each  of  two  sides,  and  nine  on  each  of  the  other 
two  sides.  The  trap  for  the  whole  was  sprung  at  the  same 
instant,  and  thirty-eight  bloody  Indian  villains  were  dangling 
at  the  ends  of  as  many  ropes.  The  trap  was  sprung  by  Wil- 
liam J.  Duly  of  Lake  Shetek,  Murray  county,  who  had  three 
children  killed  and  his  wife  and  two  children  captured,  they 
being  at  that  time  in  the  possession  of  Little  Crow  on  the 
Missouri  river. 


HBB^rv'^'  '■  ■■■■ 


SNANA. 


Minnesota;Histortcal  Society, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  XV. 


NARRATION  OF  A  FRIENDLY  SIOUX.* 


BY  SNANA,  THE  RESCUER  OF  MARY  SCHWANDT. 


xAs  I  was  asked  to  write  my  experience  of  the  outbreak  of 
1862, 1  must  begin  from  my  earliest  days  of  my  life  as  much  as 
I  can  remember. 

My  mother's  aunt  was  married  to  a  white  man,  and  her 
name  was  Gray  Cloud;  so  her  daughters  were  half-breeds.  As 
I  was  related  to  those  folks,  I  lived  with  one  and  another  from 
time  to  time.  These  two  daughters'  names  are  Mary  Brown 
and  Jennie  Robertson.  At  the  time  I  lived  with  Mary  Brown, 
there  was  a  schoolhouse  near,  in  which  I  was  a  day  scholar  for 
two  years.  There  were  three  other  Indian  girls  besides  my- 
self. When  these  two  years  of  my  schooling  had  expired,  I 
began  to  board  with  the  family  of  Dr.  Thomas  S.  Williamson, 
where  the  schoolhouse  was  located.  We  were  taught  by  Dr. 
Williamson's  sister,  whose  name  was  Jane  Williamson. 

Before  we  boarded  at  Dr.  Williamson's,  it  was  very  difficult 
for  us  to  go  to  school  at  this  special  period  of  time,  for  the 
Indians  said  that  we  would  spend  money  for  doing  this;  and 
they  tried  to  discourage  us  by  scolding,  and  pretended  to  pun- 

*The  following  notes,  contributed  by  Mr.  Robert  I.  Holcombe  of  St  Paul 
in explanation  of  some  parts  of  this  narration,  may  be  helpful  to  the  reader 
WltJl'£,few  flight  changes,  the  story  is  here  given  as  Snana  wrote  it 

MaJhkpia-lioto-win,  in  translation  Gray  Cloud,  was  a  noted  Sioux  woman 
°£e^}y»tim£?7h?n]lv?d  on  the  well  known  island  of  the  Mississippi  below 
Ew+Pa?^  *WhlC,h  stiU  i3^1"8,  her  English  name.  She  was  first  married  to  a 
white  trader  named  Anderson,  by  whom  she  had  two  children,  Angus  and 
Jennie.  Tfee  latter  became  the.  wife  of  Andrew  Robertson,  who  became 
prominent  m  Indian  affairs  in  Minnesota. 

After  Anderson's  death,  which  occurred  in  Canada,  Gray  Cloud  was  mar- 
™?£  w  w3?!?11  -£'  3f 001eii*  an°ther  white  trader,  who  was  a  Massachusetts 
man  by  birth.  By  tlie  latter  marriage  she  had  two  children,  Mary  and  Jane 
Ann,  of  whom  the  latter  died  unmarried.  Mary  was  married  to  John  Brown 
St    Paul1*        Major  J°sepk  R-  Brown,  and  is  still  living  at  Inver  Grove,  near 

Snana  (pronounced  Snah-nah)  was  born  at  Mendota  in  1839.  Her  name 
S1^118  ^\I™r£s\nHeJ  m'Ot)her  was  Wamnuka,  which  means  a  small  ovate 
bead,  called  by  the  traders  a  barleycorn.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Kaposia 
band  of  Sioux,  whose  village  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi  about 
four  males  below  St.  Paul.  yy 

10,0Dr-  Williamson  established  a  mission  school  at  Kaposia  in  November 
184b.  Snana  entered  this  school  when  she  was  about  ten  years  old,  and 
continued  as  a  pupil  there  during  three  years. 

She  was  married  to  Wakeah  Washta  (Good  Thunder)  when  she  was  only 
fifteen  years  of  age,  and  soon  after  accompanied  her  husband  and  the  other 
members  of  the  Kaposia  band  to   the  reservation  on  the   upper  Minnesota 


428  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

ish  us,  and  tried  every  way  to  stop  us.  It  was  three  years 
altogether  in  regard  to  my  schooling,  as  day  scholar  and  board- 
ing at  the  schoolhouse.  By  the  teaching  and  helping  of  the 
kind  family  of  Dr.  Williamson,  we  had  a  very  good  opportuni- 
ty, and  made  use  of  those  three  years.  I  got  so  that  I  could 
read  the  fourth  reader  by  the  time  I  left  the  school. 

It  was  then  my  mother  came  and  I  went  home  with  her  to 
the  Indian  village.  She  dressed  me  up  in  Indian  costume,  but 
as  I  had  been  living  among  the  white  people  mostly  I  was 
bashful  to  go  out  In  Indian  style,  and  for  some  days  I  stayed 
inside  the  tent  where  many  people  could  not  see  me.  But 
after  years  of  living  among  them  and  being  dressed  in  my  own 
people's  costume,  I  never  forgot  what  I  learned  towards  the 
white  people's  ways,  their  language,  their  civilization,  and  so 
forth.  Although  dressed  in  Indian  costume,  I  thought  of  my- 
self as  a  white  lady  in  my  mind  and  in  my  thoughts. 

river  set  apart  for  the  Indians  by  the  treaties  of  Mendota  and  Traverse  des 
Sioux  in  1851.  She  and  her  husband  were  Christian  Indians,  and  for  some 
years  lived  in  a  log  house  and  "in  civilization"  at  the  Lower  or  Redwood 
Agency,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Minnesota,  two  miles  southeast  from  where 
the  village  of  Morton  now  stands. 

The  Lower  Agency  was  the  scene  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Sioux  on  the 
morning  of  August  18th,  1862.  The  Christian  Indians  were  of  course  opposed 
to  the  uprising  and  the  war;  but  in  time  they  all,  or  very  nearly  all,  were 
swept  into  it,  some  by  inclination,  and  others  by  the  force  of  public  sentiment 
and  through  fear  and  coercion.  Good  Thunder  and  his  wife,  and  the  other 
Indians  who  were  "in  civilization"  at  the  Lower  Agency,  were  obliged  to 
leave  their  houses,  remove  a  few  miles  westward  to  Little  Crow's  village,  and 
take  up  new  abodes  there  in  tepees. 

It  was  on  the  fourth  day  of  the  outbreak  when  Snana  purchased  Mary 
Schwandt  from  her  captor.  This  act,  which  doubtless  saved  the  life  of  an 
innocent  young  girl,  was  wholly  Snana's;  her  husband  was  away  from  home 
at  the  time. 

Mary  Schwandt  was  then  fourteen  years  old.  Her  story  of  her  captivity 
is  published  in  the  sixth  volume  of  these  Historical  Collections  (pages  461- 
474). 

After  Snana  had  restored  Mary  Schwandt  to  the  whites  at  Camp  Release, 
she  and  her  husband  came  down  with  other  Indians  to  Fort  Snelling,  where 
they  were  encamped  for  some  time.  Here,  in  the  following  winter,  her  two 
children  died;  and  soon  after  their  death  she  went  to  Faribault,  and  lived 
there  for  some  years. 

Later  she  removed  to  Santee  Agency,  Nebraska,  where  she  was  again 
married,  this  time  to  another  man  of  her  race  whose  Indian  name  was  Maza- 
zezee  (Brass),  his  English  name  being  Charles  Brass.  He  was  for  several 
years  a  scout  in  the  United  States  military  service,  and  died  from  injuries  re- 
ceived while  scouting  under  Generals  Terry  and  Custer.  Snana  (or  Mrs. 
Maggie  Brass,  this  being  her  English  name)  was  afterward  employed  in  the 
Government  school  at  Santee  Agency,  and  has  lived  on  th«  farm  allotted  to 
her  there.  Her  son,  William  Brass,  has  received  an  education  in  the  Govern- 
ment school  at  Genoa,  Nebraska.  She  also  has  two  adopted  daughters,  both 
Indians. 

Her  name  appears,  with  the  few  others,  upon  the  monument  erected  by 
the  Minnesota  Valley  Historical  Society,  at  Morton,  in  commemoration  of 
the  services  of  the  Indians  who  saved  the  lives  of  white  persons  and  were 
true  in  their  fidelity  to  the  whites  throughout  the  great  Sioux  War  in  Minne- 
sota in  1862. 

The  spelling  of  the  foregoing  Dakota  (Sioux)  proper  names  conforms  with 
their  pronunciation,  giving  to  the  letters  their  usual  English  sounds.  It 
therefore  dingers  somewhat  from  the  system  used  by  Rev.  Stephen  R.  Riggs 
in  his  Dictionary  of  the  Dakota  Language,  which  gives  mostly  the  French 
sounds  for  vowels  and  employs  ten  peculiarly  marked  consonants,  such  as 
cannot  be  supplied  by  our  English  fonts  of  type.  A  final  syllable,  win,  is 
often  added  in  a  Dakota  name,  as  that  of  Gray  Cloud,  to  indicate  that  it  is 
a  feminine  name. 


NARRATION  OF  A  FRIENDLY  SIOUX.  429 

An  Indian  man  whose  name  was  Good  Thunder  then  offered 
some  special  things  to  my  mother  for  me  to  be  his  wife,  which 
was,  as  we  may  say,  legal  marriage  among  the  Indians.  But 
I  insisted  that,  if  I  were  to  marry,  I  would  marry  legally  in 
church;  so  we  did,  and  were  married  in  the  Protestant  Episco- 
pal church. 

Some  years  after  we  got  married,  we  were  the  first  ones  to 
enter  the  Christian  life,  which  was  in  1861.  We  were  con- 
firmed in  the  same  church.  On  account  of  our  becoming 
Christians  we  were  ridiculed  by  the  Indians  who  were  not  yet 
taught  the  gospel  of  Jesus  and  who  could  not  yet  understand 
what  Christianity  meant. 

I  want  everybody  to  understand  that  what  little  education 
I  have  was  taught  me  by  the  kind  family  of  Dr.  Williamson. 
It  has  been  of  very  great  use  to  me  all  through  my  life;  and  it 
led  me  from  the  darkness  of  superstition  to  the  light  of  Chris- 
tianity in  those  dark  days  among  my  people. 

Then  came  the  dreadful  outbreak  of  1862.  About  eight 
days  before  the  massacre,  my  oldest  daughter  had  died,  and 
hence  my  heart  was  still  aching  when  the  outbreak  occurred. 
Two  of  my  uncles  went  out  to  see  the  outbreak,  and  I  fold  them 
that  if  they  should  happen  to  see  any  girl  I  wished  them  not 
to  hurt  her  but  bring  her  to  me  that  I  might  keep  her  for  a 
length  of  time.  One  evening  one  of  my  uncles  came  to  me  and 
said  that  he  had  not  found  any  girl,  but  that  there  was  a 
young  man  who  brought  a  nice  looking  girl.  I  asked  my 
mother  to  go  and  bring  this  girl  to  me;  and  my  uncle,  having 
heard  of  our  conversation,  advised  my  mother  that  she  ought 
to  take  something  along  with  her  in  order  to  buy  this  girl. 
Hence  I  told  her  to  take  my  pony  with  her,  which  she  did. 

When  she  brought  this  girl,  whose  name  was  Mary 
Schwandt,  she  was  much  larger  than  the  one  I  had  lost,  who 
was  only  seven  years  old;  but  my  heart  was  so  sad  that  I  was 
willing  to  take  any  girl  at  that  time.  The  reason  why  I  wished 
to  keep  this  girl  was  to  have  her  in  place  of  the  one  I  lost.  So 
I  loved  her  and  pitied  her,  and  she  was  dear  to  me  just  the 
same  as  my  own  daughter. 

During  the  outbreak,  when  some  of  the  Indians  got  killed, 
they  began  to  kill  some  of  the  captives.  At  such  times  I  al- 
ways hid  my  dear  captive  white  girl.    At  one  time  the  Indians 


430  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

reported  that  one  of  the  captives  was  shot  down,  and  also  that 
another  one,  at  Shakopee's  camp,  had  her  throat  cut;  and  I 
thought  to  myself  that  if  they  would  kill  my  girl  they  must 
kill  me  first.  Though  I  had  two  of  my  own  children  at  that 
time  with  me,  I  thought  of  this  girl  just  as  much  as  of  the 
others. 

I  made  her  dress  in  Indian  style,  thinking  that  the  Indians* 
would  not  touch  her  when  dressed  in  Indian  costume.  I  al- 
ways went  with  her  wherever  she  went,  both  in  daytime  and 
night.  Good  Thunder  never  helped  me  in  any  way  to  take 
care  of  this  girl,  but  he  always  went  with  the  men  wherever 
they  went.  Only  my  mother  helped  me  to  take  care  of  her; 
especially  whenever  she -would  wash,  she  always  provided  the 
soap  and  towel. 

The  soldiers  seemed  not  to  come  near  to  us,  but  instead  of 
that  they  could  be  heard  at  a  distance  beating  the  drum  day 
after  day,  which  I  did  not  understand.  Of  course  we  who  had 
captives  wished  the  soldiers  to  come  to  us  or  to  kill  all  the  bad 
Indians.  * 

Once,  when  the  soldiers  came  near  us,  all  the  bad  Indians 
were  trying  to  skip  from  the  country,  mean  and  angry;  but  at 
this  time  I  dug  a  hole  inside  my  tent  and  put  some  pole& 
across,  and  then  spread  my  blankets  over  and  sat  on  top  of 
them,  as  if  nothing  unusual  had  happened.  But  who  do  you 
suppose  were  inside  the  hole?  My  dear  captive  girl,  Mary 
Schwandt,  and  my  own  two  little  children.  When  the  soldiers 
camped  beside  us,  my  heart  was  full  of  joy. 

General  Sibley  was  in  command  of  the  army,  and  he  ad- 
vised us  to  camp  inside  of  his  circle,  which  we  did.  He  was 
so  kind  that  he  provided  for  us  some  food  just  the  same  as  the 
soldiers  had;  and  I  thought  that  this  was  something  new  to 
me  in  the  midst  of  my  late  troubles.  When  I  turned  this  dear 
child  over  to  the  soldiers  my  heart  ached  again;  but  afterward 
I  knew  that  I  had  done  something  which  was  right. 

From  that  day  I  never  saw  her  nor  knew  where  she  was 
for  thirty-two  years,  until  the  autumn  of  1894;  when  I  learned 
that  she  lives  in  St  Paul,  being  the  wife  of  Mr.  William 
Schmidt.  Soon  I  went  to  visit  her,  and  I  was  respected  and 
treated  well.     It  was  just  as  if  I  went  to  visit  my  own  child. 


THE  SIOUX  OUTBEEAK  IN  THE  YEAK  1862, 
WITH  NOTES  OF  MISSIONARY  WORK  AMONG 
THE  SIOUX.* 


BY  REV.  MOSES  N.  ADAMS. 


With  the  rapid  and  marvelous  increase  of  the  white  popu- 
lation coming  by  immigration  into  Minnesota  during  the  ten 
or  twenty  years  previous  to  the  Sioux  outbreak  of  August, 
1862,  there  was  at  the  same  time  the  concentration,  more  and 
more,  of  the  native  Sioux  or  Dakota  Indians,  on  well  defined 
and  smaller  reservations. 

To  this  end,  new  treaties  were  made  by  the  United  States 
government,  providing  for  the  sale  of  their  best  and  most  de- 
sirable lands;  and  new,  if  not  better  provision  was  made  by 
treaty  stipulations  to  induce  the  lower  bands  of  Sioux  on  the 
Mississippi  and  Minnesota  rivers  to  remove  from  the  lands 
which  they  so  long  had  occupied  and  from  the  graves  of  their 
fathers,  and  once  more  to  pitch  their  tents  westward,  towards 
the  setting  sun.  This  change  was  the  result  of  the  treaty  of 
1861,  at  Traverse  des  Sioux,  Minnesota. 

Although  this  movement  was  not  without  valuable  con- 
siderations, it  was  not  altogether  satisfactory  to  the  Indians. 
This,  together  with  the  remembrance  of  former  treaties  and 
their  failure  to  realize  the  stipulated  benefits  thereof,  and 
their  oft  repeated  wrongs,  whether  real  or  only  imaginary,  all 
combined  to  make  them  feel  uncomfortable  and  restive. 

One  thing,  however,  is  certain,  that  the  United  States 
government  desired  to  deal  fairly  with  them,  as  its  wards, 
and  had  provided  well  for  them.  If  the  treaty  stipulations  had 
been  honestly  and  faithfully  carried  out,  the  Sioux  or  Dakotas 

♦Read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,  October  9,  .1899. 


432         •  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

would  have  been  satisfied  for  the  time,  and  possibly  the  out- 
break would  have  been  forestalled,  Minnesota  saved  from  so 
great  a  sacrifice  of  life  and  property,  and  the  national  govern- 
ment from  a  vast  amount  of  trouble  and  expense. 

CAUSES  OP  THE  OUTBREAK. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  give  the  causes  of  that 
Sioux  outbreak  in  1862.  Whatever  were  the  grievances  of  the 
Sioux,  although  many  and  great,  there  was  no  justifiable  cause 
for  that  uprising  and  indiscriminate  massacre  of  the  innocent 
*  white  settlers,  men,  women  and  children,  without  mercy.  Yet 
we  cannot  afford  to  ignore  the  fact  that  there  was  much  at 
that  time,  as  there  had  been  for  years  before  in  the  manage- 
ment of  Indian  affairs,  that  was  exasperating  to  the  Indians 
and  increasingly  provoking  and  vexatious  to  them. 

It  had  been  previously  announced  to  them,  in  1861,  in  coun- 
cil atj  Yellow  Medicine  Agency,  Minnesota,  that  "the  Great 
Father  (the  President)  at  Washington  was  to  make  them  all 
very  glad." 

They  had  already  received  their  annuities  for  that  year, 
but  were  told  that  the  government  would  give  them  a  further 
bounty  in  the  autumn.  Some  of  the  Indians  were  pleased 
with  this  offer,  but  others  demurred  and  complained  to  the 
general  superintendent,  asking  him,  "Where  is  the  promised 
extra  gift  to  come  from?"  The  superintendent  could  not  or 
would  not  tell  them,  only  that  "it  was  to  be  great  and  make 
them  very  glad." 

By  such  words  the  four  thousand  upper  Sioux  were  en- 
couraged to  expect  great  things.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year 
1861  the  Sissetons  from  Lake  Traverse  came  down  to  the 
Yellow  Medicine  Agency,  confidently  expecting  that  the  prom- 
ised goods  for  them  would  be  there;  but  the  low  water  of  the 
Mississippi  ajnd  Minnesota  rivers  delayed  the  arrival  of  the 
goods;  and  the  Indians  were  very  greatly  disappointed.  They 
waited  there,  however,  and  had  to  be  fed  by  the  agent  When 
finally  the  goods  came  the  deep  snows  and  cold  winds  of 
winter  had  also  come,  and  the  proper  season  for  hunting  was 
past  and  gone. 


THE  SIOUX  OUTBREAK.  433 

After  all,  the  promised  "great  gift"  was  only  $10,000,  in- 
stead of  $20,000  that  had  been  expected.  When  distributed 
among  so  many  it  would  be  only  about  two  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  to  each  one  of  them.  Many  of  the  Indians,  in  the  mean- 
time, would  have  earned  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  dollars  by 
hunting.  To  say  the  least,  that  was  a  great  mistake;  for 
more  than  four  thousand  disappointed  and  chagrined  Indians 
had  to  be  fed  all  that  long  and  severe  winter  by  the  Indian 
agent. 

The  lower  Sioux  Indians  were  so  greatly  displeased  that 
they  positively  refused  to  receive  their  share  of  the  $10,000 
worth  of  goods  until  they  could  ascertain  whence  they  came. 

Soon,  however,  on  a  change  of  administration,  it  appeared, 
and  it  was  noised  abroad,  that  an  effort  was  made  by  the  ad- 
ministration to  change  the  money  annuity  into  goods,  and  that 
there  had  been  sent  $70,000  which  would  be  due  the  next 
summer.  The  knowledge  of  this  new  departure  greatly  exas- 
perated the  annuity  Sioux,  and  no  doubt  had  much  to  do  with 
bringing  on  the  outbreak  and  massacre  of  1862. 

Furthermore,  there  were  in  the  country  sympathizers  with 
the  Southern  Rebellion,  who,  taking  advantage  of  these  unfor- 
tunate circumstances  and  of  the  national  troubles,  worked  up- 
on the  fears  and  hopes  of  the  dissatisfied  and  restive  Sioux  to 
make  them  more  and  more  uncomfortable  and  unreconciled  to> 
the  state  of  things.  In  their  party  strife  and  overt  disloyalty  to 
the  Union,  they  no  doubt  carried  tha  matter  further  than 
they  thought  to  do;  and  so  they  kindled  a  fire,  wild  and  de- 
structive, which  they  could  not  control  or  extinguish. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Indians  had  learned  that  nearly  all 
the  white  men  capable  of  bearing  arms  had  gone  south  into  the 
Union  army;  and  they  were  told  that,  bad  as  it  was  then 
with  them,  it  would  soon  be  worse,  and  that  the  United  States 
government  would  fail  and  become  bankrupt,  and  conse- 
quently would  be  unable  to  make  any  more  payments  of  an- 
nuities to  them.  In  view  of  all  this,  the  Sioux  decided  that 
this  was  their  opportunity  to  arise  and  exterminate  the  whites 
in  Minnesota  and  to  re-possess  themselves  of  the  lands,  to- 
gether with  all  the  improvements.  Hence  there  ensued  one  of 
the  most  terrible  and  disastrous  Indian  wars  in  modern  times. 

28 


434  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

LITTLE  CROW,  CONSPIRATOR  AND  LEADER. 

/  It  was  on  Sunday,  August  17th,  1862,  when  a  small  party 
J  of  Sioux,  belonging  to  Little  Crow's  band,  while  out  ostensibly 
/hunting  and  fishing  at  Acton,  in  Meeker  county,  Minnesota, 
*  obtained  from  a  white  man  some  spirituous  liquor,  became 
intoxicated  and  murdered  a  white  man  and  a  part  of  his  family, 
which  act  precipitated  the  Sioux  War.  Hence,  on  the  return 
of  the  murderers  to  the  Yellow  Medicine  Reservation,  on  the 
Minnesota  river,  and,  on  their  reporting  to  their  chief,  Little 
Crow,  what  they  had  done  at  Acton  the  day  before,  in  the  mur- 
der of  the  whites,  Little  Crow  said  that  it  was  sooner  than  he 
had  intended,  but,  now  that  it  was  already  begun  and  blood 
was  spilled,  the  war  must  go  on.  Forthwith  he  called  every- 
body "to  arms,"  and  to  fight  the  white  people.  He  sent  his 
swift  messengers  to  all  the  different  bands  of  Sioux,  not  only 
in  Minnesota,  but  also  to  all  those  beyond  the  Missouri  river, 
in  Nebraska,  and  in  what  is  now  Montana  and  North  nnd 
South  Dakota,  calling  them  all  to  join  in  the  uprising  and  the 
massacre  of  the  white  settlers  wherever  found. 

It  was  a  well  known  and  aeknowiedged  fact  that  Little 
Crow,  only  a  very  short  time  before  this  outbreak  occurred, 
had  in  secret  council  tampered  with  more  than  one  of  the 
neighboring  tribes  of  Indians,  with  the  view  of  securing  them 
as  his  allies  in  the  contemplated  war  and  massacre  of  the 
whites.  Only  a  few  days  before  the  outbreak,  both  the  Ojib- 
ways  and  the  Winnebagoes,  by  their  representative  head  men 
and  chiefs  respectively,  were  for  several  days  and  nights  con- 
secutively in  council  with  Little  Crow  and  his  warriors,  on  the 
Fellow  Medicine  reservation.  They  had  little  more  than 
reached  their  homes  when  the  Sioux  precipitated  that  war, 
which  began  August  18th  at  the  Lower  Agency  and  thence 
spread,  fearfully  desolating  and  depopulating  all  that  region  of 
the  state  of  Minnesota. 

Little  Crow  not  only  summoned  the  Sioux  or  Dakotas  to 
join  in  fighting  and  murdering  the  white  people,  after  the 
most  despotic  manner  of  the  Indians,  but  he  conscripted  by  a 
savage  and  cruel  conscription  that  meant  death  to  every  one 
who  should  persistently  refuse  to  join  the  hostile  party  and 
go  with  them  on  the  war-path.     His  fighting  force  was  va- 


THE  SIOUX  OUTBREAK.  435 

riously  estimated  at  from  four  to  six  thousand  warriors,  all  of 
them  well  armed  and  equipped,  and  most  of  them  mounted 
after  the  Indian  fashion. 

THE  MASSACRE. 

The  first  attack,  in  force,  began  at  the  Lower  Sioux  Agency, 
on  the  Yellow  Medicine  reservation,  about  twelve  miles  above 
Fort  Kidgely,  where  the  hostile  Sioux  murdered  or  frightened 
away  the  whites,  robbed  and  plundered  the  homes,  warehouses 
and  stores,  and  then  burned  these  buildings.  This  they  did  all 
the  way  up  on  both  sides  of  the  Minnesota  river  as  far  as  Lac 
qui  Parle.  No  one  residing  outside  of  that  terror-stricken 
portion  of  Minnesota  could  form  any  adequate  idea  of  the  fear- 
ful and  dreadful  state  of  things  in  all  that  region. 

Even  some  of  the  loyal  and  friendly  Indians  themselves 
were  terrified  and  frightened  away  with  their  families,  as  in 
the  case  of  Marpiya  Wicasta  (Cloud  Man),  Wamdiokiya 
(Eagle  Help),  and  Enoch  Marpiya-hdi-na-pe  (Cloud  in  Sight), 
who,  with  their  families,  seeing  the  terrible  disaster  coming, 
and  not  being  able  to  avert  it  nor  willing  to  connive  at  the 
horrible  massacre  of  the  white  people,  fled  north  to  the  British 
possessions,  and  for  the  time  being  took  refuge  in  the  province 
of  Manitoba,  until  the  storm  was  past  and  peace  restored. 

The  first  two  of  these  men  were  two  of  the  wisest  and  most 
progressive  men  of  the  Hazelwood  Republic,  and  were  the 
original  leaders  and  founders  of  that  settlement;  and  the  last 
one  named  was  an  educated  Indian,  having  been  our  teacher 
in  the  Sioux  language  at  Lao  qui  Parle  from  1848  to  1853, 
and  the  acting  secretary  of  the  Hazelwood  Republic  in  1862. 

The  settlers  at  that  season  of  the  year  were  generally  en- 
gaged in  harvesting  their  crops,  all  unarmed  and  totally  un- 
prepared for  that  awful  crisis,  when  they  were  suddenly 
stricken  with  terror  indescribable.  Many  of  them  were  shot 
down  in  their  fields  and  dooryards.  Their  families  were  hor- 
ribly murdered  or  taken  captives  by  the  hostile  Indian  war- 
riors, and  some  of  them  suffered  worse  than  death. 

Sudden  and  unexpected  as  was  the  outbreak,  yet  some  of 
the  white  people,  and  some  of  the  friendly  and  loyal  Indiana, 
were  enabled  to  make  their  escape  from  the  impending  fury  of 
the  hostile  savages.  Many  were  overtaken  and  murdered 
while  attempting  to  reach  some  place  of  refuge  and  safety. 


436  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

I  was  personally  acquainted  with  some  of  the  unfortunate 
victims  of  the  Sioux  War,  but  can  mention  only  a  few  of  them 
here. 

Amos  W.  Huggins,  the  eldest  son  of  Alexander  GL  Hug- 
gins,  one  of  the  oldest  missionaries)  laboring  among  the  Sioux 
for  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, was  a  Government  teacher  at  Lac  qui  Parle  at  the  time 
of  the  outbreak,  and  was  shot  down  in  sight  of  his  house  and 
almost  in  the  immediate  presence  of  his  wife  and  their  little 
children.  Another  good  man,  Philander  Prescott,  the  United 
States  interpreter  at  the  Yellow  Medicine  Agency,  who  for  al- 
most a  lifetime  had  been  a  faithful  friend  and  a  generous  ben- 
efactor of  the  Sioux,  seeing  the  dreadful  storm  coming,  fled 
for  his  life,  and  was  overtaken  by  a  hostile  Sioux  and  shot 
down,  without  mercy,  at  a  point  nearly  opposite  Fort  Ridgely. 

Similarly  Dr.  Philander  P.  Humphrey  and  his  family,  who 
at  that  time  were  at  the  Lower  Sioux  Agency,  lost  their  lives. 
Dr.  Humphrey  was  the  Government  physician  for  the  Indians 
there.  His  family  consisted  of  his  wife  and  three  children, 
the  eldest  of  whom  was  Johnnie,  then  nine  years  old. 

Early  on  Monday  morning,  August  18th,  the  first  day  of 
the  outbreak,  the  family  heard  the  firing  of  guns,  and  caught 
some  glimpses  of  wild  Indians  running  here  and  there  about 
the  Agency  buildings.  Finally  they  became  alarmed,  and  to 
their  surprise  they  found  that  already  their  neighbors  were 
all  gone,  and  had  taken  away  with  them  their  teams  and  wag- 
ons. Although  Mrs.  Humphrey  was  sick  and  in  bed,  at  the 
earnest  request  of  her  husband,  she  arose,  and,  leaning  on  his 
strong  arm,  set  out  on  foot,  with  their  three  children.  They 
had  left  their  own  horse  and  carriage,  only  a  short  time  be- 
fore the  outbreak,  at  St.  Peter,  where  they  had  been  visiting 
their  friends. 

They  walked  down  the  hill,  crossed  the  river  at  the  ferry, 
and  wended  their  way  along  the  Fort  Ridgely  road  about  four 
miles,  to  what  was  known  as  "the  Magner  place."  Mrs.  Hum^ 
phrey  there  became  faint  and  almost  exhausted,  so  that  they 
halted  for  a  rest.  Finding  no  water  in  the  pail  at  the  Magner 
house,  Johnnie,  their  son,  took  the  water  pail,  and  ran  down 
to  the  spring,  in  the  ravine  near-by,  to  bring  some  fresh  water 
for  his  sick  mother.    While  he  was  at  the  sprang,  the  hostile 


THE  SIOUX  OUTBREAK. 


437 


Sioux  came  and  attacked  the  others  of  the  family  at  the  house, 
shot  and  killed  Br.  Humphrey,  and,  in  their  haste,  severed  the 
head  from  the  body,  scalped  it,  and  left  it  about  fifty  yards 
distant  in  the  bushes.  It  was  afterward  found  there  by  us,  on 
the  expedition  sent  up  from  Fort  Ridgely  to  reconnoiter  and 
to  bury  the  dead. 

It  is  not  certainly  known  what  the  hostile  Indians  did  with 
the  remainder  of  the  family.  The  probability  is,  that,  seeing 
the  fatal  result  of  the  attack,  in  the  death  of  her  husband, 
Mrs.  Humphrey  took  refuge,  with  her  two  youngest  children  in 
the  vacant  Magner  house,  a  primitive  log  cabin,  bolted  the 
door,  and  there  perished  with  the  children,  the  house  being 
burned  by  the  Sioux.  Their  remains  were  afterwards  found  by, 
us  in  the  ashes  of  that  burned  building. 

Johnnie  Humphrey,  hearing  the  reports  of  the  guns  and 
the  noise  of  the  hostile  Indians  in  the  murder  of  his  father, 
did  not  venture  to  return  to  the  house,  but,  having  met  Mr. 
Magner,  the  owner  of  the  house,  who  was  in  concealment  near 
the  spring,  was  persuaded  by  him  to  flee  for  his  life,  with  him, 
and  try  to  reach  Fort  Ridgely.  They  escaped  and  made  their 
way,  with  great  peril  and  difficulty,  through  the  almost  impen- 
etrable brush,  until  they  met  Captain  Marsh  and  his  men,  on 
their  way  from  Fort  Ridgely  to  the  Lower  Agency. 

At  Captain  Marsh's  request,  Johnnie  returned  with  the  mil- 
itary force.  When  they  arrived  at  the  Magner  place,  they  saw 
the  decapitated  body  of  Dr.  Humphrey  in  the  yard,  and  found 
the  house  all  on  fire.  Without  stopping  to  bury  the  dead,  they 
hastened  on,  thinking  that  Mrs.  Humphrey  and  the  children 
had  been  taken  captive  by  some  wild,  marauding,  drunken  In- 
dians, and,  if  so,  that  they  would  overtake  them  and  rescue 
them.  Onward  they  went,  down  the  hill,  and  along  the  narrow 
wagon-road,  toward  the  ferry,  near  the  Lower  Agency,  when 
suddenly  Little  Crow,  from  the  bluff  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  Minnesota  river,  gave  the  signal,  and  from  three  to  five 
hundred  Sioux  warriors,  lying  there  in  ambush  at  the  road- 
side, fired  upon  that  little  detachment  of  soldiers.  Twenty- 
seven  of  them  instantly  fell  dead,  at  the  first  volley  of  the  In- 
dians. Captain  Marsh  ordered  the  survivors  to  break  ranks 
and  escape  for  their  lives,  and  nine  or  ten  of  them,  together 
with  little  Johnnie  Humphrey,  escaped  alive  and  finally 
reached  Fort  Ridgely. 


438  MINNESOTA,  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS, 

Captain  Marsh  himself  escaped  ®nd  imn  down  along  the 
river,  to  a  point  at  some  distance  below  the  ferry,  where  he 
probably  swam  across  to  the  opposite  side,  and  there  drowned 
in  the  Minnesota  riyer,  where  his  body  was  afterward  found, 
with  no  visible  marks  of  violence  on  it,  and  with  his  uniform 
and  side  arms  all  intact  The  bodies  of  his  men  who  fell  at  or 
near  the  ferry  were  dreadfully  hacked  and  mutilated  after  they 
had  fallen.  So  we  found  them,  and  sorrowfully  interred  them, 
on  Sunday,  August  31st. 

EVENTS  OF  THE   FOLLOWING  TWELVE  DAYS. 

Very  soon  after  the  outbreak,  word  came  down  to  us,  at 
St.  Peter,  that  all  the  missionaries  and  their  families,teachers, 
visiting  friends,  and  employees  at  Hazelwood,  Yellow  Medicine, 
and  the  Lower  Agency,  were  murdered  by  the  Indians,  and 
that  the  buildings  were  burned.  It  was  also  rumored  that 
Fort  Bidgely,  Fort  Abercrombie,  New  Ulm  and  Hutchinson 
were  attacked,  and  partly  destroyed  by  fire,  and  that  many 
of  the  white  people  were  murdered,  and  many  others  taken 
captive.  Still  there  was  much  uncertainty  about  what  it 
meant,  and  by  whom  it  had  been  done.  In  the  meantime,  cries 
for  help  were  wafted  on  every  breeze  that  swept  over  the  prai- 
ries from  that  direction.  Day  and  night,  almost  an  unbroken 
line  of  refugees  came,  wending  their  way  into  St.  Peter,  for 
safety,  with  a  large  overflow  who  hastened  on  to  St  Paul  and 
other  cities. 

Few,  if  any,  of  them  could  give  us  any  definite  and  satis- 
factory account  of  what  was  the  real  trouble,  or  what  the  In- 
dians were  actually  doing,  only  that  "the  Indians  were  killing 
the  whites  and  burning  their  houses  and  homes." 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  at  that  time  almost  all  our 
able-bodied  men  at  St.  Peter  and  vicinity,  as  also  at  other 
places  in  Minnesota,  had  gone  into  the  Union  army  and  were 
at  the  South,  in  the  Union  service.  Those  remaining  and  ca- 
pable of  bearing  arms,  however,  volunteered  and  went  up  to 
New  Ulm,  to  help  defend  and  save  that  place. 

Hon.  Charles  E.  Flandrau,  then  a  citizen  of  St.  Peter,  went 
up  to  New  Ulm,  in  command  of  the  volunteer  forces,  chiefly 
representing  Nicollet,  Le  Sueur,  and  Blue  Earth  counties. 
During  the  severest  fight,  which  lasted  two  days,  August  23rd 


THE  SIOUX  OUTBREAK.  439 

and  24th,  fourteen  of  our  men  were  killed,  and  from  fifty  to 
eighty  wounded,  and  the  hostile  Indians  were  defeated,  this 
being  one  of  the  most  important  battles  of  the  Sioux  War. 

The  next  day  after  the  battle,  a  council  of  the  surviving 
soldiers  of  the  command  and  the  citizens  of  New  Ulm  was 
held,  and,  in  view  of  the  facts  that  the  provisions  and  ammuni- 
tion were  becoming  scarce  and  the  sanitary  conditions  of  the 
place  were  unsafe,  it  was  decided  that  the  command  should 
evacuate,  and  that  the  citizens  of  New  Ulm  should  leave  with 
them  and  try  to  reach  Mankato  for  safety.  Accordingly,  a 
train  of  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  wagons,  loaded  with  women 
and  children,  and  with  some  fifty  or  eighty  wounded  men,  was 
taken  down  by  the  way  of  the  ford  of  the  Big  Cottonwood  riv- 
er, and  through  Butternut  Valley  and  South  Bead,  to  Man- 
kato, with  no  serious  casualty  occurring  during  that  entire 
march  of  thirty  miles  from  New  Ulm. 

At  about  that  time,  I  had  the  honor  (no  one  else  being 
available  and  willing)  to  volunteer  my  services  and  carry  an 
important  public  document  which  purported  to  be  from  Gov. 
Alexander  Ramsey,  of  St.  Paul,  addressed  to  the  "Commander 
of  the  Volunteer  Forces  at  Mankato,  Minnesota."  It  was  a 
dark,  rainy  night  when  I  left  St.  Peter  with  that  war  mes- 
sage, but  by  Divine  grace  I  made  the  journey  safely  to  Man- 
kato, delivered  the  message,  and  returned  home  safely  to  St. 
Peter.  Afterwards,  I  was  credibly  informed  that  two  hostile 
Indian  spies  were  down  that  night  at  the  Kasota  ferry,  and 
that  they  saw  me  drive  off  of  the  ferry-boat  on  my  return.  My 
good  horse  gave  me  notice  at  the  time,  by  his  usual  sign, 
that  Indians  were  near  us.  But,  as  I  had  only  one  horse,  and 
as  there  were  two  of  them,  they  did  not  molest  me,  hoping  to 
do  better  and  secure  two  horses  at  some  other  time  and  place 
less  exposed. 

Those  same  Indian  spies,  however,  came  down,  and  looked 
St.  Peter  over,  with  its  throngs  of  refugees,  who  filled  the 
houses  from  cellar  to  attic,  and  who  crowded  the  streets  with 
their  wagons  and  teams,  all  of  whom  they  mistook  for  soldiers. 
On  their  return,  they  reported  to  Little  Crow  that  "the  town 
of  St.  Peter  was  full  of  soldiers,  armed  and  equipped  for  the 
war."  This  mistake  probably  saved  St.  Peter  from  an  attack 
by  the  Indians. 


^40  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

At  our  own  house,  shen  crowded  full  of  refugees,  I  stood 
on  guard  for  several  nights  in  succession,  with  no  adequate 
means  of  defense  or  protection.  But  I  greatly  desired  to  do 
something  more  and  better,  and,  if  possible,  something  more 
consistent  with  my  calling;  and  especially  I  wished  to  arrange 
my  affairs  so  that  I  might  go  up  to  and  beyond  Fort  Bidgely, 
and  assist  in  recovering  and  burying  the  remains  of  the  mur- 
dered friends  and  citizens,  many  of  whom  were  our  personal 
acquaintances.  Mrs.  Adams  and  I  therefore  decided  to  leave 
our  house  of  refugees.  Mrs.  Adams  and  Ella,  our  daughter, 
would  go  down  to  St.  Paul  for  the  time,  and  I  would  go  to  the 
front  as  soon  as  possible.  Accordingly  I  took  my  family  down 
to  Shakopee,  and  from  there  sent  them  on  down  to  St.  Paul 
by  the  steamer  Antelope. 

Then  I  returned  and  overtook  a  part  of  the  Sixth  Kegiment 
of  Minnesota  Volunteers,  at  Belle  Plaine,  en  route  for  Ft. 
Bidgely  by  way  of  St.  Peter.  I  subjected  my  horse  and  buggy 
to  the  use  of  the  regiment  as  an  ambulance,  and  I  volunteered 
to  go  along  as  chaplain,  until  a  more  permanent  one  should 
be  appointed.  On  reaching  St.  Peter,  there  was  a  delay,  occa- 
sioned by  having  to  wait  for  necessary  supplies  of  arms  and 
ammunition;  although  everybody  was  in  a  hurry,  urging  an 
"onward  march  to  the  front,  to  chastise  the  murderers  of  our 
people." 

At  length,  so  much  of  the  Sixth  Kegiment  as  was  there 
marched  out  from  St.  Peter  westward  for  Fort  Bidgely,  and, 
by  invitation  of  Captain  Grant,  I  was  his  guest  on  that  ex- 
pedition. We  camped  that  night  only  about  eight  miles  from 
St.  Peter.  The  next  day  we  resumed  our  march  along  the  old 
Lac  Qui  Parle  road,  a  clearly  marked  "seven  path  road,"  worn 
through  the  turf  of  the  prairies. 

All  the  way  up  to  Fort  Bidgely,  a  distance  of  forty-five 
miles,  the  country  was  practically  desolated.  Many  of  the 
houses  and  barns  had  been  consumed  by  fire,  and  we  found  the 
remains  of  some  of  the  owners,  where  they  were  murdered  in 
their  dooryards  and  in  their  fields,  where  some  of  them  had 
fallen  beside  the  last  sheaf  of  grain,  raked  up  and  ready  to 
bind,  when  the  fatal,  deadly  shot  struck  them  down.  In  some 
of  the  houses,  we  found  the  table  still  standing,  as  if  the  fain- 


THE  SIOUX  OUTBREAK.  441 

ily  had  been  surprised  and  taken  captive,  or  frightened  away, 
while  about  to  partake  of  their  breakfast  or  dinner. 

As  we  drew  near  to  Fort  Ridgely,  on  the  upland  prairie,  we 
found  the  remains  of  a  murdered  colored  man.  His  body  had 
been  badly  mutilated.  An  empty  bandbox  and  the  scattered 
contents  were  all  that  was  left  of  his  outfit,  apparently  that 
of  a  barber. 

As  we  passed  on  down  the  hill,  into  that  deep  ravine  at  the 
fort,  we  reached  the  place  where  my  dear  friend  and  brother, 
Eliphalet  Richardson,  of  Glencoe,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
hostile  Sioux  and  was  shot,  as  he  was  riding  along  that  road 
toward  Fort  Ridgely  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  what  all  the  ru- 
mors of  Indian  hostilities  meant.  Simultaneously,  both  Mr. 
Richardson  and  his  horse  were  fatally  shot.  He  fell  dead  there, 
and  his  horse  ran  off  to  the  left  some  fifty  or  sixty  yards, 
where  he  fell  and  was  found  dead. 

Poor  Mr.  Richardson!  He  was  a  brave,  noble  and  self-sac- 
rificing, good  man.  When  his  brother  was  about  ready  to  go 
over  to  Fort  Ridgely  on  that  trip,  to  bring  news  to  the  terri- 
fied people  of  Glencoe  and  vicinity,  he  said,  "No,  my  brother  I 
You  have  a  wife  and  little  children  to  mourn  your  death,  but 
I  have  none  to  mourn  for  me,  if  anything  should  happen  to  me 
while  over  there."  So  saying,  he  seized  the  reins,  sprang  into 
the  saddle,  and  rode  away  into  the  very  jaws  of  death,  not 
knowing  fully  of  the  terrible  state  of  affairs,  nor  of  the  danger 
and  sudden  death  that  awaited  him  there. 

After  our  arrival  at  Fort  Ridgely,  and  that  of  other  parts 
of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  there  was  some  delay,  occasioned  by 
the  want  of  a  sufficient  force  to  warrant  a  division  of  it,  leav- 
ing men  enough  to  hold  the  fort  and  protect  the  refugees  then 
there,  and  at  the  same  time  to  take  forward  an  adequate  fight- 
ing force  to  meet  and  chastise  the  hostile  Indians. 

At  that  very  time,  while  we  were  waiting,  there  were  also  at 
Fort  Ridgely  nearly  one  hundred  mounted  men,  on  some  of  the 
very  best  horses  in  Minnesota.  These  citizens  were  armed  and 
equipped,  ready,  as  they  said  "to  make  a  dash  on  the  Indians, 
and  punish  the  murderers;"  but  they  positively  and  persist- 
ently refused  to  enlist  in  the  United  States  army  service,  or  to 
commit  themselves  for  any  definite  period  of  time  in  the  con- 


442  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

templated  expedition  against  the  hostile  Sioux.  And  on  Sat- 
urday morning  before  we  left  there,  to  reeonnoiter  and  bury 
the  dead,  that  splendid  company  of  men  with  their  horses  left 
Fort  Eidgely  for  their  homes.  No  one  of  us  was  glad  to  see 
them  leave  us  then  and  there.  General  Sibley  was  deeply 
moved  with  sorrow  at  their  conduct  and  departure,  and  so  ex- 
pressed himself.  I  said  to  General  Sibley,  "Why  did  you  let 
them  go?"  He  replied,  "Only  because  I  could  not  help  it.  If 
I  had  attempted  to  hold  them,  there  would  have  been  a  mutiny 
on  their  part.    So  I  had  to  let  them  go  home." 

After  their  departure,  General  Sibley  gathered  up  what 
was  left  of  men  and  horses  that  were  available  for  public  serv- 
ice. It  was  ascertained  that  there  were  only  some  fifty  or  sixty 
in  all.  Some  of  these  had  saddles  and  bridles,  arms  and  am- 
munition, all  right;  but  quite  a  number  of  them  had  only  the 
merest  excuses  for  these  things,  so  necessary  for  good  and  ef- 
ficient cavalry  service.  Manifestly,  many  of  the  horses  had 
never  been  broken  to  the  saddle,  and  some  of  them  were  not 
even  bridle- wise,  nor  at  all  used  to  the  noise  of  fire-arms  and 
standing  the  fire,  as  in  cavalry  service.  However,  they  were 
the  best  available  there  for  the  contemplated  expedition. 

RECONNOISSANCE  AND  BURIAL  OF  THE  DEAD. 

Finally,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  General  Sibley  gave  orders 
that  on  Sunday  morning,  August  31st,  Company  A  of  the  Sixth 
Regiment,  commanded  by  Oapt.  Hiram  P.  Grant,  together  with 
as  many  mounted  men  as  were  available,  should  leave  Fort 
Ridgely  and  proceed  to  reeonnoiter  and  bury  the  dead;  that 
on  Sunday  night  they  should  encamp  at  the  mouth  of  Birch 
Ooulie,  nearly  opposite  the  Lower  Agency;  that  on  Monday 
they  should  finish  burying  the  dead,  and  go  into  camp  on  Mon- 
day night  at  the  Birch  Ooulie  crossing  of  the  old  Lac  Qui  Parle 
road;  and  that  the  infantry  and  mounted  forces  should  keep 
close  together  for  mutual  support  and  protection.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  Sabbath  morning,  the  detachment  marched  out  in 
the  direction  of  the  Lower  Sioux  Agency. 

After  we  left  Fort  Ridgely,  the  mounted  force,  headed  by 
Maj.  Joseph  R.  Brown,  reconnoitered  on  both  sides  of  the  road 
leading  to  the  Lower  Sioux  Agency,  until  they  reached  the 
thick  growth  of  bushes  and  briers,  when  their  horses  refused 


THE  SIOUX  OUZB&BMSL  443 

to  proceed,  and  they  wheeled  into  the  narrow  wagon  road. 
Thence  they  went  before  the  infantry  and  the  transportation 
teams,  in  the  line  of  march,  pretty  much  all  the  rest  of  the 
way. 

Before  we  quite  reached  the  "Magner  place,"  about  eight 
miles  from  the  fort,  we  found  and  interred  the  bodies  of  the 
murdered  citizens.  On  reaching  the  site  of  Mr.  Magner's  log 
cabin,  which  had  been  burned,  we  found  the  headless 
body  of  Dr.  Humphrey,  lying  where  he  fefll,  in  the  front 
yard.  By  making  diligent  and  thorough  search,  we  found  the 
remains  of  Mrs.  Humphrey  and  of  their  two  children,  at  least 
so  much  as  were  not  consumed  by  fire,  in  the  cellar,  in  the^ 
ashes  of  the  burned  house.  Having  brought  an  impromptu  cof- 
fin, obtained  from  the  post  quartermaster  at  Fort  Ridgely  for 
the  purpose  before  leaving  there,  we  gathered  up  the  remains 
of  this  little  family  and  placed  them  all  in  that  large  plain 
coffin  and  buried  them  near  where  we  found  them. 

We  proceeded  down  the  hill,  and  buried  the  remains  of  a 
number  of  murdered  white  people  at  the  roadside,  usually  near 
where  we  found  them. 

At  length,  we  reached  the  point,  near  the  Lower  Agency 
ferry,  where  we  found  the  remains  of  the  twenty-seven  men 
of  Captain  Marsh's  company,  who  fell  dead  by  the  fatal  shots 
of  three  to  five  hundred  of  Little  Crow's  warriors,  who,  from 
their  ambuscade  in  the  brush,  fired  upon  them  with  terribly 
disastrous  results.  Many  of  these,  our  fallen  soldiers,  we  found 
lying  there  with  their  faces  to  the  ground,  their  bodies  riddled 
with  bullets  and  their  backs  hacked  with  knives  and  toma- 
hawks, presenting  a  shocking  and  mournful  sight,  long  to  be 
remembered.  There  we  buried  them.  That  Sabbath  day,  by 
us  who  were  on  that  burying  expedition,  was  one  never  to  be 
forgotten,  as  a  day  of  solemn  funeral  services  of  the  most  sadi 
and  sorrowful  character. 

Our  reconnoitering  party  failed  to  find  the  remains  of  Cap- 
tain Marsh,  who  was  in  command  of  the  little  force  that  was 
surprised  and  so  nearly  all  murdered  by  such  an  overwhelming 
number  of  Sioux  warriors.  His  body,  however,  was  afterwards 
found  and  recovered  by  his  brother,  being  taken  from  the  Min- 
nesota river,  in  which  he  had  perished  by  drowning.  It  was} 
remove^  to  Elliota,  Minn.,  for  interment. 


444 


MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 


That  Sunday  night,  we  went  into  camp  opposite  the  Lower 
Sioux  Agency,  at  the  mouth  of  Birch  Coulie,  a  very  much  ex- 
posed place.  Had  the  hostile  Sioux  known  it,  they  might  have 
successfully  attacked  us  from  at  least  three  sides  of  our  en- 
campment, in  that  little  oat-stubble  field  all  aglow  with  our 
camp  fires.  Fortunately,  however,  they  were  not  there  to  mo- 
lest us  that  night. 

Nothing  of  special  interest  occurred,  except  that,  about 
midnight,  the  lieutenant  of  Captain  Grant's  company,  who  was 
the  officer  of  the  day,  came  into  the  captain's  tent  and  reported 
that  one  of  the  guard,  on  duty,  was  found  delinquent  of  the 
password  for  the  night.  Captain  Grant  replied,  "Lieutenant, 
that  does  not  accord  well  with  your  first  report,  that  you  had 
'the  best  guard  mounted  that  ever  was  on  duty  in  the  Min- 
nesota valley.'"  "Oh  no!  Captain,  but  all  is  right  now,"  was 
the  lieutenant's  reply. 

The  next  morning  we  finished  burying  the  dead  in  that 
vicinity.  For  the  same  purpose,  a  small  party  crossed  the  Min- 
nesota river,  with  Mr.  Nathan  Myrick,  and  recovered  the  body 
of  his  brother,  Mr.  Andrew  Myrick,  and  that  of  Mr.  J.  W. 
Lynd.  They  were  murdered  at  the  Lower  Sioux  Agency, 
among  the  first  victims  of  the  outbreak. 

BATTLE  OF  BIRCH  COULIE. 

In  the  meantime,  others,  chieiiy  of  the  cavalry  or  mounted 
men,  reconnoitered.  A  few  of  them  ventured  as  far  up  as  the 
Redwood  crossing,  and  there  recrossed  the  Minnesota  river,, 
and  returned,  late  in  the  evening  of  that  day,  to  Captain 
Grant's  camp,  three  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Birch  Coulie^ 
at  the  crossing  of  the  old  Lac  Qui  Parle  road.  They  reported 
that  they  saw  no  Indians  in  all  that  region  reconnoitered  by 
them.  But  the  hostile  Sioux  saw  them,  and  their  spies  fol- 
lowed them  down  from  the  Redwood  crossing,  saw  them  ride 
into  that  encampment  for  the  night,  and  then  returned  and 
reported  to  Little  Crow* 

Thereupon,  the  entire  force  of  the  hostile  Sioux  marched 
down  that  night,  and  before  daylight  the  next  morning  at- 
tacked Captain  Grant  and  his  command  in  that  encampment 
with  most  disastrous  results,  killing  twenty-three  and  wound- 
ing sixty  of  our  soldiers  and  citizens.    Ninety-two  horses  were 


THE  SIOUX  OUTBREAK.  445 

shot  and  killed  or  mortally  wounded,  including  all  the  trans- 
portation teams  and  nearly  all  the  cavalry  horses  in  that  ex- 
pedition. 

The  dead  horses,  however,  proved  helpful  to  the  survivors  in 
the  camp,  wiio  promptly  utilized  them  in  constructing  im- 
promptu barricades  or  breastworks,  behind  which  they  were 
enabled  to  withstand  the  attack,  holding  the  camp  against  the 
firing  of  the  Sioux,  until  they  were  relieved-  But  the  defence 
was  not  without  loss  of  some  more  of  their  bravest  and  best 
comrades,  such  as  Mr.  Holbrook  of  Belle  Plaine  and  Mr.  Dick- 
inson of  Henderson,  both  of  whom  I  had  known  for  many  years 
before  that  terrible  battle. 

Fortunately  for  myself  and  horse,  on  the  afternoon  of  Mon- 
day, the  day  before  that  disaster  occurred  at  Birch  Coulie,  hav- 
ing finished  the  burial  of  the  dead  up  to  the  mouth  of  the 
coulie  and  in  its  vicinity,  with  the  leave  of  Captain  Grant,  I 
returned  with  my  horse  and  buggy  to  Fort  Ridgely,  and,  as 
directed  by  Captain  Grant,  reported  to  General  Sibley,  com- 
mander in  chief  of  the  Minnesota  volunteers. 

The  next  morning,  very  early,  even  before  it  was  daylight, 
after  my  return  to  the  fort,  we  heard  the  firing  of  guns,  but 
such  was  the  confused  sound  and  strange  reverberation  that 
it  seemed  almost  impossible  for  any  of  us,  even  the  most  ex- 
pert men  present,  including  General  Sibley  and  his  staff  offi- 
cers, to  determine  certainly  from  what  direction  the  reports 
of  musketry  came,  whether  from  Captain  Grant' s  camp  at 
Birch  Coulie  crossing,  or  from  New  Ulm,  down  the  Minnesota' 
river. 

Finally,  General  Sibley  decided  to  send  up  a  detachment 
of  soldiers,  with  orders  to  go  with  all  possible  speed  directly 
to  Captain  Grant's  camp.  It  was  almost  noon,  however,  when 
all  was  ready  and  the  relief  detachment  marched  out  in  that 
direction,  and  so  nearly  was  it  dark  that  evening  when  they 
neared  Captain  Grant's  camp,  about  fifteen  miles  distant  from 
Fort  Ridgely,  that  they  could  not  in  the  twilight  distinctly  and 
certainly  see  whether  it  was  his  camp  or  that  of  the  hostile 
Sioux.  So  they  waited  there  until  the  early  dawn  of  the  next 
morning,  when  they  marched  into  that  almost  annihilated  en- 
campment, strewn  with  the  bodies  of  our  soldiers,  and  sur- 
rounded, as  it  was,  with  the  dead  horses,  riddled  wagons,  and 


446  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

impromptu  earthworks.  Then  they  understood  why  they  could 
not  in  the  dim  twilight,  of  the  evening  before,  recognize  the 
encampment  as  that  of  our  soldiers. 

The  following  citizens  of  St.  Paul  were  killed  in  the  Birch 
Coulie  battle,  namely,  Robert  Baxter,  Fred  S.  Beneken,  Wil- 
liam M.  Cobb,  John  Colledge,  George  Colter,  Robert  Gibbons, 
William  Irvine,  William  Russell,  Benjamin  S.  Terry,  and  H. 
Walters.  Their  bodies  were  recovered  and  brought  to  this  city 
for  interment. 

Having  returned  to  Fort  Ridgely  and  reported  to  General 
Sibley,  and  having  accomplished,  as  I  thought,  about  all  that 
I  could  well  do  as  a  volunteer  chaplain  in  the  public  service,, 
and  learning  that  Rev.  S.  R.  Riggs  w7as  under  appointment  as 
chaplain  and  designated  as  interpreter  of  the  Sioux  language 
for  that  expedition,  and  that  he  would  soon  be  there  to  accom- 
pany General  Sibley's  command,  I  obtained  leave  from  him  and 
returned  home. 

SUMMARY  OF  LOSSES  BY  THE  MASSACRE  AND  WAR. 

Various  estimates  have  been  made  of  the  number  of  white 
people  killed  by  the  hostile  Sioux  in  1862.  The  most  probable 
number,  all  told,  was  not  far  from  five  hundred,  including  the 
soldiers  who  fell  in  the  battles  at  the  Lower  Agency,  New 
Ulm,  Birch  Coulie  and  Wood  Lake.  That  entire  portion  of  the 
upper  Minnesota  valley,  including  the  whole  or  large  parts  of 
some  fifteen  or  twenty  counties  of  our  state,  was  fearfully  des- 
olated, and  for  the  time  almost  entirely  depopulated.  Nor  has- 
it  yet,  in  1899,  fully  recovered. 

The  mission  stations,  the  United  States  Indian  agencies, 
churches  and  schools,  were  all  broken  up,  the  buildings  were 
burned,  and  the  people  were  either  murdered  or  frightened 
away.  Some  of  the  women  and  children  were  taken  captive  byr 
the  hostile  Sioux,  and  while  in  captivity  were  in  constant  fearr 
of  death. 

AID  BY  FRIENDLY  DAKOTAS. 

Very  few,  if  any,  of  the  Christian  Sioux,  who  were  then 
connected  with  the  Presbyterian  mission  churches  among 
them,  were  foilnd  guilty  of  participating  in  that  outbreak  and 
the  murder  of  the  white  settlers  in  Minnesota.  And  it  is  wor- 
thy of  record  here  that  all  the  white  people  who  were  rescued! 


THE  SIOUX  OUTBREAK.  447 

and  saved  alive  were  directly  or  indirectly  saved  by  the  Christ- 
ian Indiams,  who  in  so  doing  greatly  jeopardized  their  own 
lives  and  those  of  their  families.  That  so  many  white  people 
were  enabled  to  escape  was,  indeed,  as  if  by  a  special  Divine 
providence  and  merciful  dispensation  of  God,  which  to  us 
seemed  almost  as  miraculous  as  the  deliverance  of  the  apostle 
Peter  from  prison  more  than  eighteen  hundred  years  ago. 

Among  the  loyal  and  friendly  Dakotas,  who  were  most 
active  and  efficient,  and  who  were  distinguished  for  their  zeal 
and  helpfulness  in  behalf  of  the  imperilled  and  defenceless 
white  people  during  that  dreadful  ordeal,  I  may  mention  the 
following  names,  with  brief  recital  of  their  heroic  aid. 

Paul  Maza-ku-ta-ma-ne  and  Antoine  Renville  were  the  first 
to  notify  Dr.  S.  R.  Riggs  and  his  family,  and  others  then  at 
Hazelwood  mission  station,  and  begged  them  to  "hasten  and 
escape."  At  midnight  these  two  friendly  Sioux  guided  and 
otherwise  assisted  them  in  their  flight  through  the  tall,  wet 
grass,  to  the  Minnesota  river;  took  them  in  canoes,  and  piloted 
their  wagons  and  teams  to  an  island;  and  there  left  them, 
for  a  time  in  that  somewhat  concealed  place  for  safety. 

Thence  these  refugees  from  Hazelwood  and  its  vicinity  were 
led  in  their  escape  by  Chaskedan  (Robert  Hopkins),  an  elder 
in  Dr.  Williamson's  mission  church,  who  kindly  drove  Dr.  Wil- 
liamson's team  and  guided  the  escaping  party  successfully  out 
through  the  lines  of  the  mounted  hostile  Indians,  although  they 
were  vigilantly  patrolling  all  that  region  and  were  conscripting 
every  Sioux  into  the  war  against  the  whites.  Chaskedan  is 
the  same  full-blooded  Indian  who,  when  a  boy,  with  his  father, 
near  Lac  Qui  Parle,  several  years  before  the  outbreak,  had 
saved  Mr.  Joseph  A.  Wheelock  from  drowning  in  the  Chippewa 
river. 

Simon  Anawag-ma-ne,  another  good  man,  when  Dr.  Wil- 
liamson's team  had  been  taken  away  before  he  decided  to 
leave,  brought  his  own  ox  team  and  strong  wagon,  and  gave 
them  to  the  doctor,  thus  enabling  him  and  his  family  to  escape 
from  the  impending  danger  and  make  their  way  to  St.  Peter. 
Anawag-ma-ne  was  the  same  brave  and  kind  man  who  after- 
wards befriended  Mrs.  Newman  and  her  captive  children  while 
in  camp,  and,  at  an  opportune  time,  brought  them  down  in  his 
one-horse  wagon,  through  the  lines  of  the  hostile  Sioux,  in 
safety  to  Fort  Ridgely. 


448  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Enoch  Marpiya-hdi-na-pe  (Cloud  in  Sight),  another  full- 
blood  Dakota  Indian,  who  was  in  sympathy  with  the  whites, 
very  early  in  that  momentous  crisis  warned  Dr.  Williamson  of 
the  uprising  and  the  murderous  designs  of  the  Indians,  and  of 
the  fearful  possibility  that  he  and  other  friendly  Indians  might 
not  much  longer  be  able  to  protect  him  and  his  family  and  save 
them  alive.  He  entreated  Dr.  Williamson  to  leave  and  try  to 
reach  a  place  of  safety  before  it  would  be  too  late,  thus  leading 
him  to  escape  with  the  Hazelwood  party. 

Lorenzo  Lawrence,  also  a  full-blood  Dakota,  in  the  midst  df 
that  fiery  trial,  left  Hazelwood  with  canoes  lashed  together 
side  by  side,  and  hiding  by  day  and  paddling  the  canoes  by 
night,  brought  down  a  precious  cargo,  comprising  Mrs.  De 
Camp  and  her  three  children  and  Mrs.  Robideau  and  five  chil- 
dren, together  with  his  own  wife  and  five  children,  sixteen  in 
all,  and  landed  them  safely  at  Fort  Ridgely.  When  Mrs.  De 
Camp's  little  child  fell  overboard  in  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
Lorenzo  plunged  into  the  river  and  rescued  and  restored  it  to 
its  mother's  arms;  and  this  was  characteristic  of  that  good 
man,  whom  I  knew  from  1848  to  the  day  of  his  death. 

Wakan-ma-ne  (Walking  Spirit),  very  early  after  the  out 
break  occurred,  like  a  tender  and  compassionate  father,  took 
charge  of  Mrs.  Amos  W.  Huggins  and  her  two  little  children, 
after  her  husband  was  killed,  August  19th,  at  Lac  Qui  Parle. 
He  protected  them  from  the  hostile  Sioux,  gave  them  food 
and  shelter,  and  faithfully  delivered  them  in  safety  to  General 
Sibley  at  Camp  Release.  Amanda,  Wakan-ma-ne's  wife,  in 
her  sympathy  and  kind  care  of  Mrs.  Huggins  and  her  little 
children,  walked  down  thirty  miles  and  back  to  obtain  flour 
and  make  wheat  bread  for  them,  during  their  captivity,  the 
mother  and  children  not  being  able  to  eat  the  corn  used  in 
the  tent  life  of  the  Dakotas. 

There  were  also  a  number  of  other  good  Christian  Indian 
women  who  joined  heartily  and  faithfully  in  befriending  and 
helping  the  white  people.  Among  them  was  Zoe,  who  very 
considerately  and  in  the  nick  of  time  carried  the  forgotten  bag 
of  bread  from  the  mission  home  over  to  Mrs.  Riggs,  while  as 
jet  the  party  were  in  their  hiding  place  on  the  island  opposite 
the  Hazelwood  mission  station.     In  like  manner  Winyan,  a 


THE  SIOUX  OUTBREAK.  449 

devoted  Christian  woman,  early  notified  the  whites  of  the  re* 
ported  trouble  and  of  their  peril,  and  in  many  ways  did  all 
she  could  to  help  them  make  their  escape. 

Mrs.  Bird,  Mrs.  Antoine  Renville,  and  Mrs.  John  B.  Ren- 
ville,  Christian  Dakota  women  of  influence  and  of  sympathy 
with  the  white  people,  made  great  sacrifices  and  took  great 
risks  in  helping  them  to  escape  in  safety  from  death;  and 
meantime  they  did  all  they  could  to  quell  the  outbreak  and 
protect  the  captives. 

Rev.  John  B.  Renville  and  his  brothers,  Antoine  and  Mi- 
chael, and  others  associated  with  them  at  the  Hazelwood  Re- 
public, formed  a  nucleus  and  did  stalwart  service  in  quelling 
the  outbreak,  in  rescuing  and  saving  the  prisoners  from  death, 
and  in  aid  of  their  final  release. 

Last,  but  by  no  means  least,  was  John  Otherday  (Angpetu 
Tokecha),  a  Dakota  who  had  married  a  white  woman.  He 
lived  at  Yellow  Medicine  Agency,  and  had  renounced  the 
heathenism  of  the  Sioux  and  abandoned  the  war-path.  On 
profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ,  he  had  been  received  into  Dr. 
Williamson's  church,  of  which  he  was  then  a  member.  Hear- 
ing of  the  trouble  at  the  Lower  Sioux  Agency,  and  knowing 
that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  stop  it,  nor,  indeed,  to  protect 
and  defend  his  white  friends  from  its  fearful  march  and  fatal 
results,  he  thought  that  the  best  thing  he  could  then  do,  in 
the  circumstances,  was  to  try  to  save  the  white  people  by  aid- 
ing their  escape.  Accordingly,  he  gathered  some  sixty-two 
white  people,  including  forty-two  women  and  children,  and  on 
August  19th  took  up  the  line  of  march,  crossing  the  Minnesota 
river,  and,  under  his  guidance,  the  party  made  their  way  out 
over  the  prairies,  by  way  of  Hutchinson  and  Henderson,  to 
Shakopee  and  St.  Paul,  in  safety.  On  his  arrival  at  St.  Paul, 
John  Otherday  publicly  said,  "This  deliverance  I  attribute  to 
the  mercy  of  the  Great  Spirit/'  meaning  that  it  was  the  gospel 
of  Christ  which  had  led  him  to  befriend  and  guide  that  com- 
pany in  the  midst  of  so  great  peril,  bringing  them  safely  to* 
their  friends,  with  so  much  joy  and  thankfulness. 

CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS   AND   THEIR   RESULTS. 

The  wonderful  changes  in  the  Sioux  or  Dakota  people  with- 
in the  last  half  century,  and  the  truly  marvelous  results  of 
29 


450 


MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 


the  efforts  made  for  their  intellectual,  moral  and  spiritual  im- 
provement, should  not  be  overlooked  by  us  in  our  review  of 
the  Sioux  outbreak  and  war. 

Long  before  the  outbreak,  the  Sioux  were  known  for  their 
bravery,  and  distinguished  for  their  warlike  disposition.  So 
fierce  and  cruel  were  they  in  their  hostility  and  bloodthirsty 
warfare,  that  they  were  commonly  styled  "the  bloody  Sioux/7 
Yet  they  were  very  much  like  all  other  heathen  people,  with- 
out the  gospel  of  Christ  and  the  blessings  of  Christian  civiliza- 
tion. 

Providentially  and  geographically,  the  Sioux  and  other  In- 
dians of  our  country  were  at  our  very  doors,  and  therefore 
they  had  special  claims  on  us,  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
for  our  sympathy  and  helping  hand.  To  this  end  and  on  this 
line,  much  had  been  done  for  the  Sioux  people,  both  by  the 
United  States  government  and  by  the  Christian  churches  and 
their  boards  for  home  and  foreign  missions,  to  educate,  train,. 
and  instruct  them  in  the  new  and  better  ways  of  Christian  civ- 
ilization and  Christianity.  Great  sacrifices  were  made,  in  this 
Christian  and  truly  philanthropic  work,  in  behalf  of  these  ab- 
origines of  our  country.  For  many  years  "the  good  seed  of 
the  .kingdom"  was  sown,  and  many  prayers  and  entreaties  to 
God  were  offered  in  their  behalf;  much  money  was  expended 
for  them;  and  many  precious  elect  lives  were  laid  on  the  altar 
of  consecrated  service  for  them. 

It  was  my  privilege,  coming  here  for  mission  work  at  Lac 
Qui  Parle  in  1848,  to  be  associated  with  some  of  these  pioneer 
missionaries,  namely,  Rev.  T.  S.  Williamson,  M.  D.,  and  hiss 
son,  Eev.  John  P.  Williamson;  Rev.  S.  R.  Riggs  and  his  sons; 
Revs.  Samuel  and  Gideon  H.  Pond;  Rev.  Robert  Hopkins; 
Rev.  Joshua  Potter;  Rev.  John  F.  Aiton;  and  Rev.  Joseph  W. 
Hancock.  Many  of  these  have  ceased  from  their  labors  and 
entered  into  their  rest,  "and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

Before  the  Sioux  outbreak  and  massacre  of  the  whites,  and 
at  that  time,  the  medicine  men  and  warriors  of  the  Sioux  na- 
tion said  that,  in  the  contemplated  war  with  the  white  people, 
they  would  surely  succeed.  They  stipulated  that,  if  they 
should  not  overcome  and  destroy  the  whites,  then  the  "Taku 
Wakan"  of  the  Sioux  or  Dakotas  is  false  and  must  be  re- 


THE  SIOUX  OUTBREAK.  45^ 

nounced  by  them,  and  the  white  people's  God  would  be  the 
true  God  and  their  God.  Accordingly  it  was  believed  that  the 
gods  of  the  Sioux  nation  fought.  When  they  were  defeated, 
it  was  seen  that  the  brightest  and  mightiest  of  the  stars  in  the 
entire  Dakota  mythology,  as  known  to  them,  had  fought,  but 
were  overcome.  It  was  therefore  acknowledged  that  the  "Taku 
Wakan"  of  their  fathers  was  false,  unworthy  to  be  trusted, 
and  had  failed  them  in  the  day  of  battle,  as  at  Wood  Lake, 
when  Little  Crow  and  Little  Six,  and  the  hostile  Sioux  gen-« 
erally,  were  driven  back,  and  fled  to  the  broad  plains  beyond, 
defeated  and  utterly  routed. 

After  the  decisive  battle  of  Wood  Lake,  there  was  a  won- 
derfully great  change  in  the  Sioux  nation.  Their  heathen  gods 
had  utterly  failed  them.  Great  multitudes  of  them  turned  to 
God;  and  ever  since  that  time  there  has  been  an  open  door 
for  the  preaching  and  teaching  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  among 
the  Dakotas,  as  never  before. 

What  now  are  the  facts  and  figures  showing  the  results  of 
missionary  work  among  the  Dakotas,  since  the  reconstruction 
and  new  order  of  things,  for  their  uplifting  and  salvation? 
Only  a  few  of  them  can  here  be  mentioned. 

Without  boasting  or  making  any  invidious  comparisons,  or 
in  the  least  depreciating  the  labors  and  results  of  others 
among  the  Sioux  (or  Dakotas,  as  they  themselves  prefer  to  be 
called),  I  would  state  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  alone,  and 
its  missionary  boards,  have,  according  to  the  last  reports,  pub- 
lished in  the  Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly  of  May,  1898, 
the  following  interesting  statistics  of  their  work  and  member- 
ship: 19  native  Dakota  ordained  ministers;  4  candidates,  and 
1  licentiate;  23  organized  Presbyterian  churches,  with  69  rul- 
ing elders,  ordained  to  the  work,  and  27  deacons,  elect  and  set 
apart  to  the  office;  1,334  church  members,  in  good  and  regular 
standing;  and  600  Sunday  school  scholars.  Within  the  pre- 
ceding year,  $448  were  contributed  for  miscellaneous  pur- 
poses; $1,774  for  home  missions;  $65  for  foreign  missions; 
$1,976  for  their  own  church  expenses,  and  $105  as  their  share 
of  the  General  Assembly  fund.  Besides,  they  also  made  very 
commendable  contributions  to  each  of  the  other  Boards  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.    Most  of  these 


£52  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Dakota  churches  now  have  neat  and  comfortable  houses  of 
worship  of  their  own,  all  paid  for  on  or  before  the  day  of  dedi- 
cation. 

The  Dakota  people  also  have  schoolhouses  on  their  respect- 
ive reservations;  and  some  of  them  have  boarding  schools  for 
manual  training.  They  are  interested  in  the  education  and 
training  of  their  children  and  youth;  and  many  of  the  par- 
ents, whom  I  have  known,  make  great  sacrifices  in  order  to 
keep  their  children  in  school  so  long  as  to  become  well  edu- 
cated and  fitted  for  usefulness  in  life. 

In  connection  with  their  churches,  they  have  pretty  much 
all  the  usual  voluntary  societies  and  associations,  as  of  Christ- 
ian Endeavor,  etc.,  each  in  its  place,  doing  a  good  work. 

In  view  of  what  God  has  done  among  the  Sioux  or  Dako- 
tas,  and  what  he  is  now  doing,  for  their  enlightenment,  uplift- 
ing and  salvation,  through  all  the  agencies  of  Christian  mis- 
sion work  among  them,  we  may  well  exclaim,  "Behold  what 
God  hath  wrought!    It  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes!" 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Vol,  IX.    Plate  XVI. 


THE    LOUISIANA    PURCHASE    AND    PRECEDING 
SPANISH  INTRIGUES  FOR   DISMEMBERMENT 

OF  THE  UNION.* 


BY  NATHANIEL  PITT  LANGFORD. 


"The  Mississippi  river,"  says  George  Bancroft,  "is  the  guard- 
ian and  the  pledge  of  the  union  of  the  States  of  America. 
Had  they  been  confined  to  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Alleghanies, 
there  would  have  been  no  geographical  unity  between  them; 
and  the  thread  of  connection  between  lands  that  merely  fringed 
the  Atlantic  must  soon  have  been  sundered.  «  The  father  of 
rivers  gathers  his  waters  from  all  the  clouds  that  break  be- 
tween the  Alleghanies  and  the  farthest  ranges  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  The  ridges  of  the  eastern  chain  bow  their  heads 
at  the  north  and  the  south,  so  that  long  before  science  became 
the  companion  of  man,  Nature  herself  pointed  out  to  the  bar- 
barous races  how  short  portages  join  his  tributary  waters  to 
those  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  At  the  other  side  his  mightiest 
arm  interlocks  with  the  arms  of  the  Oregon  and  the  Colorado; 
and,  by  the  conformation  of  the  earth  itself,  marshals  high- 
ways to  the  Pacific.  From  his  remotest  springs  he  refuses  to 
suffer  his  waters  to  be  divided;  but  ais  he  bears  them  all  to 
the  bosom  of  the  ocean,  the  myriads  of  flags  that  wave  above 
his  head  are  all  the  ensigns  of  one  people.  States  larger  than 
kingdoms  flourish  where  he  passes,  and  beneath  his  step  cities 
start  into  being,  more  marvellous  in  their  reality  than  the 
fabled  creations  of  enchantment.  His  magnificent  valley, 
lying  in  the  best  part  of  the  temperate  zone,  salubrious  and 
wonderfully  fertile,  is  the  chosen  muster-ground  of  the  various 
elements  of  human  culture  brought  together  by  men  sum- 
moned from  all  the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth,  and  joined 
in  the  bonds  of  common  citizenship  by  the  strong  invincible 

*Read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,  February  13,  1899. 


454  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

attraction  of  republican  freedom.  Now  tliat  science  has  come 
to  be  the  household  friend  of  trade  and  commerce  and  travel, 
and  that  Nature  has  lent  to  wealth  and  intellect  the  use  of  her 
constant  forces,  the  hills,  once  walls  of  division,  are  scaled  or 
pierced  or  levelled,  and1  the  two  oceans,  between  which  the 
republic  has  unassailably  intrenched  itself  against  the  out- 
ward world,  are  bound  together  across  the  continent  by 
friendly  links  of  iron.  From  the  grandeur  of  destiny,  foretold 
by  the  possession  of  that  river  and  the  lands  drained  by  its 
waters,  the  Bourbons  of  Spain,  hoping  to  act  in  concert  with 
Great  Britain  as  well  as  France,  would  have  excluded  the 
United  States,  totally  and  forever." 

In  the  early  days  of  our  republic,  the  great  national  artery 
so  justly  eulogized  by  our  leading  historian,  was  the  fruitful 
cause  of  the  most  dangerous  intrigues,  aimed  at  the  perpetuity 
of  our  Union,  The  inhabitants  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
valleys,  cut  off  by  the  Appalachian  range  from  all  commercial 
intercourse  with  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  were  necessarily  de- 
pendent upon  the  Mississippi  for  access  to  the  markets  of  the 
world.  The  mouth  of  that  river  was,  as  to>  them,  the  thresh- 
old of  subsistence.  Extensive  possessions,  richness  of  soil, 
and  immensity  of  production  were  of  little  value  without  the 
means  which  this  great  channel  alone  afforded  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  commercial  relations  with  other  nations.  The 
most  prolific,  as  well  as  most  unbounded  region  of  varied  agri- 
cultural production  in  the  world  was  comparatively  valueless 
without  this  single  convenience. 

At  the  time  whereof  I  now  speak,  the  mouth  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  the  country  adjacent  was  owned  and  controlled 
by  Spain,  then  a  powerful  nation,  jealous  of  her  possessions  in 
America,  and  unfriendly  to  the  young  republic  which  had  sud- 
denly sprung  into  existence  on  the  northern  borders  of  her  em- 
pire. She  had  assented  to  the  stipulation  in  the  treaty  be- 
tween Grreait  Britain,  the  United  States,  and  herself  in  1783  in 
which  the  independence  of  our  country  was  recognized,  that 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  from  its  source  to  its  mouth 
should  be  and  should  forever  remain  free  and  open  to  the  sub- 
jects of  Great  Britain  and  the  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
This  privilege,  sufficient  for  ordinary  purposes  in  time  of  peace, 
was  liable  at  any  moment  and  on  almost  any  pretence,  as  we 


THE  JLiOUlSSIANA  PURCHASE.  455 

shall  hereafter  see,  to  be  absolutely  denied,  or  to  be  hampered 
with  oppressive  duties,  or  to  be  used  for  purposes  dangerous  to 
the  very  existence  of  our  government. 

FOBESIGHT  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  first  individual  to  see  the  evils  which  might  flow  from  a 
dependence  upon  this  outlet  to  thfe  ocean  by  the  people  living 
west  of  the  Alleghanies,  was  Washington  himself.  He  had 
carefully  noted  the  flow  of  the  rivers  beyond  the  Alleghanies, 
and  the  portages  between  them  and  the  rivers  flowing  down 
their  eastern  slope,  at  the  time  of  his  first  visit  into  that  region 
before  the  Revolution,  and  wTas  only  hindered  from  forming 
a  company  to  unite  them  by  an  artificial  channel,  by  the  oc- 
currence of  the  Revolution  itself.  The  year  after  peace  was 
declared  he  again  visited  the  country  bordering  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Ohio,  and  at  this  time  regarded  the  improvement 
not  only  of  immense  importance  in  its  commercial  aspect  to 
the  States  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  but  as  one  of  the  neces- 
sities of  the  general  government.  "He  had  noticed,"  says 
Washington  Irving,  "that  the  flanks  and  rear  of  the  United 
States  were  possessed  by  foreign  and  formidable  powers,  who 
might  lure  the  Western  people  into  a  trade  and  alliance  with 
them.  The  Western  States,  he  observed,  stood  as  it  were  on 
a  pivot,  so  that  the  touch  of  a  feather  might  turn  them  any 
way.  They  had  looked  down  the  Mississippi  and  been  tempted 
in  that  direction  by  the  facilities  of  sending  everything  down 
the  stream,  whereas  they  had  no  means  of  coming  to  the  At- 
lantic sea-board  but  by  long  land  transportation  and  rugged 
roads.  The  jealous  and  untoward  disposition  of  the  Spaniard, 
it- was  true,  almost  barred  the  use  of  the  Mississippi;  but  they 
might  change  their  policy  and1  invite  trade  in  that  direction. 
The  retention  by  the  British  Government,  also,  of  the  posts  of 
Detroit,  Niagara,  and  Oswego,  though  contrary  to  the  spirit 
of  the  treaty,  shut  up  the  channel  of  trade  in  that  quarter." 

Washington's  views  were  laid  before  the  legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  were  received  with  such  favor  that  he  was  induced 
to  repair  to  Richmond  to  give  them  his  personal  support.  His 
suggestions  and  representations  during  this  visit  gave  the  first 
impulse  to  the  great  system  of  internal  improvements  since 
pursued  throughout  the  United  States. 


456  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

DISSATISFACTION  OF  WESTERN  SETTLERS. 

While  Washington  was  urging  upon  the  people  of  Virginia 
the  importance  of  a  water  communication  between  the  head 
waters  of  the  Potomac  and  the  Ohio,  and  had  succeeded  so  far 
as  to  effect  the  organization  of  two  companies  under  the  pat- 
ronage of  the  Governments  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Western  States,  dissatisfied  with  the  tax  imposed 
upon  them  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  debt  of  the  country  to 
Prance,  were  many  of  them  abandoning  their  dwellings  and 
marching  towards  the  Mississippi,  "in  order  to>  unite  with  a 
certain  number  of  disbanded  soldiers  who  were  anxious  to 
possess  themselves  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  territory 
watered  by  that  river."  Their  object  was  to  establish  a  gov- 
ernment under  the  name  of  The  Western  Independence,  and 
deny  the  authority  of  the  American  Congress,  as  McGillivray 
says  in  a  letter  to  the  governor  of  Pensacola. 

This  Alexander  McGillivray,  the  head  chief  of  the  Tala- 
pouches,  or  Creeks,  was  a  half-breed,  the  son  of  Lachland  Mc- 
Gillivray, a  Scotchman,  and  a  Creek  woman.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  Scotland.  Pickett,  the  historian  of  Alabama,  calls 
him  the  Talleyrand  of  Alabama;  and  Gayarre,  in  an  extended 
eulogy,  says  of  him :  "The  individual  who,  Proteus-like,  could 
in  turn, — nay  more,  who  could  at  the  same  time,  be  a  British 
colonel,  a  Spanish  and  an  American  general,  a  polished  gen- 
tleman, a  Greek  and  Latin  scholar,  and  a  wild  Indian  chief 
with  the  frightful  tomahawk  at  his  belt  and  the  war  paint  on 
his  body,  a  shrewd  politician,  a  keen-sighted  merchant,  a  skill- 
ful speculator,  the  emperor  of  the  Greeks  and  Seminoles,  the 
able  negotiator  in  person  with  Washington  and  other  great 
men,  the  writer  of  papers  which  would  challenge  the  admira- 
tion of  the  most  fastidious, — he  who  could  be  a  Mason  among 
the  Christians,  and  a  pagan  prophet  in  the  woods;  he  who 
could  have  presents,  titles,  decorations,  showered  at  the 
same  time  upon  him  from  England,  Spain  and  the 
United  States,  and  who  could  so  long  arrest  their  en- 
croachments against  himself  and  his  nation  by  play- 
ing them  like  puppets  against  each  other,  must  be  allowed  to 
tCKwer  far  above  the  common  herd  of  men."  McGillivray  died 
17th  February,  1793.     He  was  buried  with  Masonic  honors,  in 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  457 

the  garden  of  William  Panton,  in  Pensacola.  His  death,  spread 
desolation  among  Ms  people. 

PROPHECIES  OF  NAVARRO 

Martin  Navarro,  the  Spanish  intendant  at  New  Orleans, 
united  with  remarkable  sagacity  and  foresight  a  jealousy  of 
the  American  ^population  of  the  Western  States,  amounting 
almost  to  mania.  His  policy  in  regulating  commercial  inter- 
course with  all  neighbors  was  in  the  largest  degree  conciliatory 
and  generous.  From  the  hour  of  its  birth,  he  predicted  with 
singular  accuracy  the  power  and  growth  of  the  American  re^ 
public.  In  1786,  speaking  of  the  commercial  relations  between 
the  province  of  Louisiana  and  the  numerous  Indian  tribes 
which  owned  the  territory  bordering  upon  the  Mississippi 
river,  he  says: — 

"Nothing  can  be  more  proper  than  that  the  goods  they  want 
should  be  sold  them  at  an  equitable  price,  in  order  to  afford 
them  inducements  and  facilities  for  their  hunting  pursuits, 
and  in  order  to  put  it  within  their  means  to  clothe  themselves 
on  fair  terms.  Otherwise  they  would  prefer  trading  with  the 
Americans,  with  whom  they  would  in  the  end  form  alliances 
which  cannot  but  turn  out  to  be  fatal  to  this  province/' 

The  surplus  productions  of  the  Western  settlements  at  this 
time  had  grown  into  a  very  considerable  commerce,  which, 
having  no  other  outlet  than  the  Mississippi,  was  sent  down 
that  river  to  New  Orleans  where  it  was  subjected  to;  unjust 
and  oppressive  duties.  The  flatboat-men  complained  of  the 
seizures,  confiscations,  extortions  and  imprisonments  which 
in  almost  every  instance  were  visited  upon  them  by  the  Span- 
ish authorities.  Infuriated  by  the  frequency  and  flagrant 
character  of  these  outrages,  and  denying  the  right  of  Spain 
under  the  treaty  of  1783  in  any  way  to  restrict  the  free  naviga- 
tion of  the  river,  the  Western  people  began  seriously  to  con- 
template an  open  invasion  of  Louisiana,  and  a  forcible  seizure 
of  the  port  of  New  Orleans.  They  laid  their  grievances  before 
Congress  and  petitioned  that  body  to  renew  negotiations  with 
Spain,  and  secure  for  them  such  commercial  privileges  as  were 
necessary  to  the  very  existence  of  their  settlements. 

Navarro  seconded  these  views,  and  writing  to  his  Govern- 
ment says:     "The  powerful  enemies  we  have  to  fear  in  this 


458  MINNESOTA  HISTOBICAt,  SGCIETJ  COLLECTIONS. 

province  are  not  the  English,  but  the  Americans,  whom  we 
must  oppose  by  active  and  sufficient  measures."  He  then,  by 
a  variety  of  reasons,  urges  that  a  restriction  of  commercial 
franchises  will  only  increase  the  embarrassment  of  Spain. 
"The  only  way,"  he  says,  "to  check  them,  is  with  a  proportion- 
ate population,  and  it  is  not  by  imposing  commercial  restric- 
tions that  this  population  is  to  be  acquired,  but  by  granting 
a  prudent  extension  and  freedom  of  trade." 

By  granting  the  Americans  special  privileges,  donating 
lands  to  them  and  affording  them  other  subsidies,  Navarro 
hoped  to  lure  them  from  their  allegiance  to  our  Government. 
Very  many,  yielding  to  these  inducements,  moved  their  fami- 
lies into  the  Spanish  province  and  became  willing  subjects  of 
His  Catholic  Majesty.  The  majority  of  those  who  remained, 
owing  to  the  repeated  failures  and  rebuffs  they  had  suffered 
in  their  efforts  to  obtain  free  commercial  privileges,  were 
forced  at  length  to  consider  the  idea  of  forming  a  new  and  in- 
dependent republic  of  their  own.  Their  separation  by  distance 
and  mountain  barriers  from  the  Atlantic  states  rendered  all 
commercial  intercourse  impracticable  between  the  two  portions 
of  the  country.  They  were  surrounded  by  savages*  against 
whose  murderous  attacks  their  Government  was  unable  to 
afford  them  adequate  protection,  and  their  commerce  was  bur- 
dened with  oppressive  and  ruinous  duties  before  it  could  gain 
access  to  the  markets  of  the  world.  Besides  these  considera- 
tions, they  were  oppressed  with  heavy  taxation  to  pay  the  in- 
terest on  the  great  war  debt  to  France.  These  reasons,  to  any 
one  who  can  identify  himself  with  the  period  of  our  history 
now  under  review,  would  certainly  seem  sufficient  to  overcome 
a  patriotism  which  had  always  been  measured  by  the  amount 
of  sacrifice  it  was  capable  of  making  without  any  return.  Our 
Government,  still  under  the  old  confederacy  and  no  longer 
bound  by  the  cohesive  elements  of  the  war,  was  ready  to  fall 
to  pieces  because  of  its  inherent  weakness.  The  majority  of 
the  people,  both  east  and  west,  had  little  confidence  in  its  sta- 
bility. The  leading  patriots  of  the  Revolution,  alarmed  at  the 
frequent  and  threatening  demonstrations  of  revolt  made  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  were  at  a  loss  to  know  how  to  avoid  a 
final  disruption.  , 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  459 

"What,  then,"  says  Washington  in  a  letter  to  John  Jay,  "is 
to  be  done?  Things  cannot  go  on  in  the  same  strain  forever. 
It  is  much  to  be  feared,  as  yon  observe,  that  the  better  kind  of 
people,  being  disgusted  with  the  circumstances,  will  have  their 
minds  prepared  for  any  revolution  whatever.  We  are  apt  to 
run  from  one  extreme  to  another.  *♦•****  x  am 
told  that  even  respectable  characters  speak  of  a  monarchical 
government  without  horror.  From  thinking  proceeds  speak- 
ing;— then  acting  is  often  but  a  single  step.  But  how  irrevo- 
cable and  tremendous!  What  a  triumph  for  our  enemies  to 
verify  their  predictions!  What  a  triumph  for  the  advocates 
of  despotism  to  find  that  we  are  incapable  of  governing  our- 
selves, and  that  systems  founded  on  the  basis  of  equal  liberty 
are  merely  ideal  and  fallacious." 

It  was  when  the  country  was  in  this  condition,  that  the  idea 
of  a  separate  independence  took  form  among  the  people  west 
of  the  Alleghanies.  Want  of  unanimity  in  the  adoption  of  a 
basis  for  the  new  republic  only  prevented  its  organization; 
for  as  soon  as  the  question  came  under  serious  consideration, 
no  less  than  five  parties  appeared,  each  claiming  its  plan  to 
be  the  only  one  suited  to  the  purposes  in  view.  Judge  Martin, 
in  his  history  of  Louisiana,  says : 

"The  first  party  was  for  being  independent  of  the  United 
States,  and  for  the  formation  of  a  new  republic  unconnected 
with  the  old  one,  and  resting  on  a  basis  of  its  own  and  a  close 
alliance  with  Spain. 

"Another  party  was  willing  that  the  country  should  become 
a  part  of  the  province  of  Louisiana,  and  submit  to  the  ad- 
mission of  the  laws  of  Spain. 

"A  third  desired  a  war  with  Spain  and  the  seizure  of  New 
Orleans. 

"A  fourth  plan  was  to  prevail  on  Congress,  by  a  show  of 
preparation  for  war,  to  extort  from  the  cabinet  of  Madrid  what 
it  persisted  in  refusing. 

"The  last,  as  unnatural  as  the  second,  was  to  solicit  France 
to  procure  a  retrocession  of  Louisiana,  and  to  extend  her  pro- 
tection to  Kentucky." 

Encouraged  in  their  designs  to  lure  the  Western  people 
into  Louisiana  by  this  public  evidence  of  their  disaffection 


460  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

toward  their  own  country,  the  Spanish  authorities  from  this 
moment  conceived  the  idea  of  working  a  dismemberment  of 
our  confederacy  and  attaching  the  vast  country  west  of  the 
Alleghanies  to  the  other  Hispano- American,  possessions.  Sepa- 
rate plans  for  effecting  this  object  were  formed  by  Miro,  the 
governor  of  Louisiana,  and  Gardoquoi,  the  Spanish  minister 
at  Philadelphia.  These  officials  were  jealous  of  each  other, 
and  though  partners  in  design,  frequently  clashed  in  their 
measures. 

GEN.  WILKINSON'S  INTRIGUES. 

In  June,  1787,  General  James  Wilkinson,  an  officer  of  the 
Revolution  who  had  emigrated  to  the  West  a  few  months  be- 
fore, descended  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans,  with  a  cargo 
of  floiur,  tobacco,  butter  and  bacon.  His  boat  having  been 
seized,  Wilkinson,  after  a  protracted  interview  with  Governor 
Miro,  parted  from  him  with  an  order  for  its  release  and  per- 
mission to  sell  his  cargo  free  of  duty.  This  arch-intriguer  was 
permitted,  during  the  entire  period  that  his  negotiations  with 
Miro  were  in  progress,  to  enjoy  all  the  privileges  of  the  New 
Orleans  market  free  of  duty.  He  sold  large  cargoes  of  tobacco, 
flour  and  butter  to  the  Spanish  authorities  on  different  occa- 
sions, and  received  from  Miro,  at  various  times,  very  large  sums 
of  money  to  aid  him  in  the  work  of  dismemberment.  We  learn 
that  at  one  time  he  sought  to  become  a  Spanish  subject,  but 
was  dissuaded  by  Miro,  who,  while  he  loved  the  treason,  hated 
the  traitor.  At  another  time,  in  the  midst  of  his  intrigues  he 
besought  Miro  to  obtain  for  him  a  portion  of  the  country  to 
which  he  coiild  flee  to  escape  the  vengeance  which  would  pur- 
sue him  in  case  his  diabolical  acts  should  be  discovered  by 
Washington.  He  remained  in  New  Orleans  until  September. 
During  that  period,  at  Miro's  request,  he  furnished  him  with 
his  views  in  writing  of  the  political  interests  of  Spain  and  the 
Western  people.  This  document  strongly  advocated  the  free 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  was  sent  to  Madrid  for 
the  perusal  of  the  king.  But  it  was  intended  simply  as  a 
blind,  to  conceal  the  inception  of  an  intrigue  between  Miro  and 
Wilkinson  for  the  separation  of  the  Western  settlements  from 
the  Union,  and  their  adherence  to  Spain.  It  was  soon  ascer- 
tained that,  coincident  with  the  submission  of  this  document, 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  461 

Wilkinson  presented  another  to  Miro,  containing  different  rep- 
resentations, but  which  was  not  made  public. 

In  the  meantime,  Gardoquoi,  acting  without  Miro's  com- 
pliance, had  invited  the  people  of  Kentucky  and  the  region 
bordering  the  Cumberland  river  to  establish  themselves  under 
the  protection  of  Spain  in  West  Florida  and  the  Florida  dis- 
trict of  lower  Louisiana,  offering  as  inducements  that  they 
might  hold  slaves,  stock,  provisions  for  two  years,  farming 
utensils  and  implements,  without  paying  any  duty  whatever, 
and  enjoy  their  own  religion.  Allured  by  these  promises, 
many  Americans  removed  to  Louisiana  and  became  Spanish 
subjects.  To  encourage  this  work  of  emigration,  Gardoquoi 
made  a  concession  of  a  vast  tract  of  land,  seventy  miles  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  to  Col.  George  Morgan,  upon  his  propo- 
sition to  settle  it  with  a  large  number  of  immigrants.  In  pur- 
suance of  this  purpose,  Morgan  afterwards  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  a  city  there,  which,  in  compliment  to  Spain,  he  called 
New  Madrid. 

Gardoquoi,  fearful  lest  his  plans  might  be  disturbed  by 
Miro,  sent  an  agent  to  New  Orleans  to  obtain  for  them  the  sup- 
port of  that  functionary.  Miro  was  deeply  embroiled  in  the 
Intrigue  with  Wilkinson; — am  enterprise,  which,  if  successful, 
would  prove  vastly  more  important  than  that  of  Gardoquoi. 
Concealing  his  purpose  from  the  latter,  Miro,  upon  one  pretext 
and  another,  avoided  committing  himself  to  plans  which,  if 
prosecuted,  were  certain  to  clash  with  his  own.  In  January, 
1788,  he  wrote  to  Valdes,  the  minister  for  the  department  of 
the  Indies : — 

"I  have  been  reflecting  for  many  days  whether  it  would  not 
be  proper  to  communicate  to  D'Arges  (Gardoquoi's  agent) 
Wilkinson's  plans,  and  to  Wilkinson  the  mission  of  D'Arges, 
In  order  to  unite  them  and  dispose  them  to  work  in  concert. 
'*  *  *  The  delivering  up  of  Kentucky  into  His  Majesty's 
hands,  which  is  the  main  object  to  which  Wilkinson  has  prom- 
ised to  devote  himself  entirely,  would  forever  constitute  this 
province  a  rampart  for  the  protection  of  New  Spain." 

In  the  course  of  this  intrigue,  Gardoquoi's  agent  stipulated 
to  lead  fifteen  hundred  and  eighty-two  Kentucky  families  into 
the  Natchez  district.  Miro  ordered  Grandpre,  the  governor 
of  Natchez,  to  make  concessions  of  land  to  each  family  on  its 


4gg  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

arrival,  and  require  them  to  take  the  following  oath :  "We  the 
undersigned  do  swear,  on  the  Holy  Evangelists,  entire  fealty* 
vassalage  and  lealty  to  His  Catholic  Majesty,  wishing  volun- 
tarily to  live  under  his  laws,  promising  not  to  act  either 
directly  or  indirectly  against  his  real  interest,  and  to  give  im- 
mediate information  to  our  commandants  of  all  that  may  come 
to  our  knowledge  of  whatever  nature  it  may  be,  if  prejudicial 
to  the  welfare  of  Spain  in  general  and  to  that  of  this  province 
in  particular,  in  defence  of  which  we  hold  ourselves  ready  to 
take  up  arms  on  the  first  summons  of  our  chiefs,  and  particu- 
larly in  the  defence  of  this  district  against  whatever  forces 
may  come  from  the  upper  part  of  the  river  Mississippi,  or  from 
the  interior  of  the  continent." 

"Whilst  presenting  to  them  these  considerations,"  writes 
Miro,  "you  will  carefully  observe  the  manner  in  which  they 
shall  receive  them,  and  the  expression  of  their  faces.  Of  this 
you  will  give  me  precise  information,  every  time  that  you  send 
me  the  original  oaths  taken." 

In  furtherance  of  his  enterprise,  Wilkinson  spent  several 
months  in  the  Atlantic  States  after  leaving  New  Orleans.  He 
wrote  to  Miro  in  cipher,  on  his  return  to  the  West,  that  all  his 
predictions  were  verifying  themselves.  "Not  a  measure,"  he 
says,  "is  taken  on  both  sides  of  the  mountains  which  does  not 
conspire  to  favor  ours,"  About  the  same  time  he  wrote  to  Gar- 
doquoi  in  order  to  allay  his  suspicions.  Receiving  from  Miro 
no  immediate  reply  to  his  letter,  he  sent  a  cargo  of  produce 
down  the  river  in  charge  of  Major  Isaac  Dunn,  whom  lie  ac- 
credited to  Miro  as  a  fit  auxiliary  in  the  execution  of  their  po- 
litical designs.  Dunn  assured  the  Spanish  governor  that  Ken- 
tucky would  separate  entirely  from  the  Federal  Union  the  next 
year. 

While  these  schemes  were  in  progress,  the  settlers  in  the 
district  of  Cumberland,  reduced  to  extremities  by  the  frequent 
and  bloody  invasions  of  the  Indians  south  of  them,  sent  dele- 
gates to  Alexander  McGillivray,  head  chief  of  the  tribes,  to 
declare  their  willingness  to  throw  themselves  into  the  arms  of 
His  Catholic  Majesty,  as  subjects.  They  said  that  Congress 
could  neither  protect  their  persons  nor  property,  nor  favor  their 
commerce,  and  that  they  were  desirous  to  free  themselves  from 
all  allegiance  to  a  power  incapable  of  affording  the  smallest 
benefit  in  return. 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  4Qg 

SPANISH  INQUISITION. 

One  of  the  difficult  questions  for  the  Spanish  authorities  to 
settle  with  the  people  thej  expected  to  lure  to  their  embrace 
was  that  of  religion.     Spain  was  not  only  Catholic,  but  she 
had  not  abandoned  the  Inquisition,  as  a  means  of  torturing 
the  rest  of  the  world  into  a  confession  of  that  faith.     Gardo- 
quoi  had  promised  all  immigrants  into  Louisiana  freedom  of 
religious  opinion.     Miro,  willing  to  make  some  concessions, 
would  not  concede  entire  freedom.     Just  at  the  time  that  a 
promise  had  been  made  of  a  large  emigration  from  the  west- 
ern settlements,  Miro   received  a  letter  from   the   Reverend 
Capuchin  Antonio  de  Sedella,  informing  him  that  he  had  been 
appointed  commissary  of  the  Inquisition,  and  that,  in  order 
to  carry  his  instructions  into  perfect  execution,  he  might  soon, 
at  some  late  hour  of  the  night,  deem  it  necessary  to  require 
some  guards  to  assist  him  in  his  operations.     A   few    hours 
afterwards  while  this  inquisitor  was  reposing,  he  was  roused 
by  an  alarm.     Starting  up  he  met  an  officer  and  a  file  of  grena- 
diers, who,  he  (Supposed,  had  come  to  obey  his  orders.    "My 
friends,"  said  he,  "I  thank  you  and   his    excellency    for  the 
readiness  of  this  compliance  with  my  request.     But  I  have  no 
use  for  your  services,  and  you  shall  be  warned  in  time  when 
you  are  wanted.     Retire,  then,  with  the  blessing  of  God."    The 
surprise  of  the  Holy  Father  may  be  conceived  when  told  that 
he  was  under  arrest.    "What!"  he  exclaimed,  "will  you  dare 
lay  hands  on  a  commissary  of  the  Holy  Inquisition?" 

"I  dare  obey  orders,"  was  the  stern  reply, — and  Father  de 
Sedella  was  immediately  conducted  on  board  a  vessel  which 
sailed  the  next  day  for  Cadiz. 

Miro,  writing  to  one  of  the  members  of  the  cabinet  of 
Madrid  concerning  this  unceremonious  removal,  says:  "The 
mere  name  of  the  Inquisition,  uttered  in  New  Orleans,  would 
be  sufficient,  not  only  to  check  immigration,  which  is  success- 
fully progressing,  but  would  also  be  capable  of  driving  away 
those  who  have  recently  come,  and  I  even  fear  that  in  spite  of 
my  having  sent  out  of  the  country  Father  de  Sedella,  the  most 
fatal  consequences  may  ensue  from  the  mere  suspicion  of  the 
cause  of  his  dismissal."  This  was  the  first  and  last  attempt 
of  the  Spaniards  to  plant  the  Inquisition  in  North  America, 


464  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

In  the  midst  of  these  intrigues  and  schemes,  Navarro,  the 
talented  intendant,  was  recalled  by  his  Government  and  re- 
turned to  Spain.  The  two  offices  of  governor  and  intendant 
thus  became  united  in  Miro.  In  his  last  official  dispatch, 
Navarro  expressed  his  views  of  the  province  with  con- 
siderable detail.  He  depicted  the  dangers  which  Spain  had 
to  fear  from  the  United  States, — predicting  that  the  "new- 
born giant  would  not  be  satisfied  until  he  extended  his  domains 
across  the  continent  and  bathed  his  vigorous  young  limbs  in 
the  placid  waters  of  the  Pacific."  A  severance  of  the  Union 
was,  in  his  opinion,  the  only  way  this  could  be  prevented.  This 
was  not  difficult  if  the  present  circumstances  were  turned  to 
advantage.  "Grant,"  said  he,  "every  sort  of  commercial  privi- 
lege to  the  masses  in  the  Western  region,  and  shower  pen- 
sions and  honors  on  the  leaders." 

While  actively  engaged  in  the  prosecution  of  his  intrigue 
with  Miro,  we  learn  from  a  letter  written  to  that  official  in 
February,  1789,  that  in  October  of  the  previous  year  Wilkin- 
son met  with  Ool.  Connelly,  a  British  officer,  who,  he  says,  "had 
travelled  through  the  woods  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Big 
Miami,  from  which  he  came  down  the  Ohio  in  a  boat."  He 
claimed  to  be  an  emissary  of  Lord  Dorchester,  the  governor- 
general  of  Canada.  Ignorant  of  Wilkinson's  secret  negotia- 
tions with  Miro,  he  met  him  by  invitation  at  his  house,  and 
upon  Wilkinson's  assurance  of  regard  for  the  interests  of  His 
Britannic  Majesty,  Connelly  unfolded  to  him  the  object  of  his 
mission.  He  informed  Wilkinson  that  Great  Britain  was  de- 
sirous of  assisting  the  Western  settlers  in  their  efforts  to  open 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi.  She  would  join  them  to  dis- 
possess Spain  of  Louisiana,  and  as  the  forces  in  Canada  were 
too  small  to  supply  detachments  for  the  purpose,  Lord  Dor- 
chester would,  in  place  thereof,  supply  our  men  with  all  the 
implements  of  war,  and  with  money,  clothing,  etc.,  to  equip 
an  army  of  ten  thousand  men. 

Wilkinson,  in  his  letter  to  Miro,  says :  "After  having 
pumped  out  of  him  all  that  I  wished  to  know,  I  began  to 
weaken  his  hopes  by  observing  that  the  feelings  of  animosity 
engendered  by  the  late  Revolution  were  so  recent  in  the  hearts 
of  the  Americans  that  I  considered  it  impossible  to  entice  them 
into  an  alliance  with  Great  Britain;  that  in  this  district,  par- 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  455 

ticularly  in  that  part  of  it  where  the  inhabitants  had  suffered 
so  much  from  the  barbarous  hostilities  of  the  Indians,  which 
were  attributed  to  British  influence,  the  resentment  of  every 
individual  was  much  more  intense  and  implacable.  In  order 
to  justify  this  opinion  of  mine,  I  employed  a  hunter  who  feigned 
attempting  his  life.  The  pretext  assumed  by  the  hunter  was 
the  avenging  the  death  of  his  son,  murdered  by  the  Indians  at 
the  supposed  instigation  of  the  English.  As  I  hold  the  com- 
mission of  a  civil  judge,  it  was  of  course  to  be  my  duty  to  pro- 
tect him  against  the  pretended  murderer,  whom  I  caused  to  be 
arrested  and  held  in  custody.  I  availed  myself  of  this  circum- 
stance to  communicate  to  Connelly  my  fear  of  not  being  able 
to  answer  for  the  security  of  his  person,  and  I  expressed  my 
doubts  whether  he  could  escape  with  his  life.  It  alarmed  him 
so  much  that  he  begged  me  to  give  him  an  escort  to  conduct 
him  out  of  the  territory,  which  I  readily  assented  to,  and  on 
the  20th  of  November  he  recrossed  the  Ohio  on  his  way  back 
to  Detroit.'7 

Such  was  the  influence  of  Wilkinson  with  the  people  of  the 
districts  of  Kentucky  and  Cumberland,  that  between  the  years 
1786  and  1792  he  thwarted  them  four  times  in  their  designs  to 
invade  Louisiana,  after  preparations  had  been  made  for  that 
purpose.  His  object  was  to  unite  the  Western  settlements 
with  Spain, — not  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the  Federal 
Union. 

STATE    OF   FRANKLAND. 

Circumstances  which  had  occurred  several  years  before 
this  time  gave  birth  to  another  intrigue  of  remarkable  char- 
acter, which  culminated  in  the  fall  of  1788.  The  western  por- 
tion of  North  Carolina,  known  as  the  Washington  District, 
in  1784  declared  itself  independent  and  organized  a  govern- 
ment under  the  name  of  the  State  of  Frankland.  The  name 
was  afterward  changed  to  Franklin. 

At  that  time  North  Carolina  was  a  turbulent  state,  and 
there  was  little  cohesion  between  the  eastern  and  western 
portions.  The  desire  of  the  western  portion  to  form  a  separate 
state  government  was  aimed  at  the  parent  state  rather  than 
the  United  States.  The  parent  state  did  not  oppose  the  se- 
cession, for  the  reason  that  it  had  been  severely  taxed  to  pay 
30 


466  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  Indian  war  debts  incurred  in  protecting  the  western  fron- 
tier. On  the  other  hand,  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  por- 
tion complained  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  was  not  ex- 
tended over  them,  so  as  to  protect  them  from  the  incursions 
of  the  outlaws  from  adjoining  states. 

In  the  year  1784  the  legislature  of  North  Carolina  ceded 
what  is  now  the  State  of  Tennessee  to  the  United  States, 
coupled  with  the  condition  that  within  two  year$  it  should 
formally  accept  the  gift;  and  further,  that  until  the  expiration 
of  that  period,  North  Carolina  should  exercise  sovereignty  over 
it.  On  August  23, 1784,  a  constitutional  convention  was  called 
at  Jonesboro,  of  which  John  Sevier  was  president.  A  differ- 
ence of  opinion  arose  among  the  members  as  to  whether  their 
declarationi  of  independence  should  go  into  effect  at  once,  or 
at  a  future  day; — but  a  vote  being  taken,  two^thirds  of  the 
members  declared  for  immediate  secession.  The  same  ques- 
tion divided  the  members  when  they  met  in  November  to  frame 
a  constitution,  and  the  convention  dissolved  in  utter  confusion. 
In  the  meantime  the  State  of  North  Carolina  became  alarmed 
at  the  attitude  of  the  secessionists,  audi  repealed  its  act  of 
cession,  which  had  not  at  that  time  been  accepted  by  the 
United  States,  and  Governor  Sevier  advised  his  followers  to 
abandon  the  scheme  for  the  organization  of  the  new  state. 
But  his  adherents  would  not  recede.  They  met  oil  December 
14,  1784,  at  Jonesboro  and  adopted  a  constitution,  subject  to 
its  ratification  by  a  future  convention,  which  was  to  meet  at 
Greenville  in  November,  1785.  In  March,  1785,  the  two  houses 
of  the  Legislature  met  and  elected  John  Sevier  Governor  of 
the  new  state,  and  organized  courts,  and  passed  general  laws. 
Among  these  acts  of  the  Legislature  was  one  authorizing  the 
payment  of  taxes  and  of  salaries  to  be  made  in  various  articles 
of  merchandise.  Among  the  articles  in  which  taxes  were  pay- 
able were  the  following:  Beaver,  otter  and  deer  skins,  which 
were  rated  at  six  shillings  each;  raccoon  and  fox  skins,  rated 
at  one  shilling  three  pence  each;  beeswax,  at  one  shilling  per 
pound;  rye  whiskey,  at  three  shillings  six  pence  per  gallon; 
peach  brandy,  at  three  shillings  per  gallon.  The  salaries  of  all 
officers  were  to  be  paid  wholly  in  skins.  The  following  is  a 
copy  of  one  of  the  acts  of  the  Legislature: — 

"Be  it  enacted  by  the  general   assembly  of  the   State   of 
Franklin,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  authority  of  the  same, 


THE  IiOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  467 

that  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  January  next  the  salaries 
of  this  commonwealth  shall  be  as  follows,  to- wit: 

His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  per  annum,  100  deer  skins. 

His  Honor,  the  Chief  Justice,  500  deer  skins. 

The  Secretary  to  His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  500  raccoon 
skins. 

County  Clerk,  300  beayer  (skins. 

Clerk  of  the  House  of  Commons,  200  raccoon  skins. 

Members  of  the  Assembly,  per  diem,  three  raccoon  skins. 

Justice's  fee  for  serving  a  warrant,  one  mink  skin." 

Among  the  names  proposed  for  the  new  state  was  that  of 
Frankland,  or  the  "Land  of  freemen;"  but  by  a  very  small 
majority  it  was  decided  to  call  it  Franklin  in  honor  of  Ben- 
jamin Franklin.  Franklin,  however,  did  not  know  that  the 
new  state  had  been  named  for  him  until  eighteen  months  after 
its  organization.  Seemingly  this  name  was  given  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  the  friendship  of  Franklin  for  the  new  state ; — 
but  the  wily  statesman,  while  expressing  his  appreciation  of 
the  honor  conferred  upon  him,  was  loth  to  avow  himself  on  the 
side  of  the  secessionists,  and  advised  them;  to  submit  their 
claims  to  Congress  for  adjustment.  He  pointed  out  to  them 
the  excellence  of  a  system  of  paternal  government  which  pro*- 
vided  for  a  Congress  which  could  act  as  a  judge  in  such  mat- 
ters. 

Governor  Sevier  apprised  Governor  Alexander  Martin  of 
North  Carolina  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  counties  west  of 
the  mountains  had  declared  themselves  independent  and  had 
formed  a  separate  State.  Governor  Martin  replied  that  he 
could  not  consent  to  such  an  irregular  mode  of  separation,  and 
intimated  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  would  inter- 
fere to  prevent  it. 

The  convention  which  was  expected  to  ratify  a  constitu- 
tion met  at  Greenville  on  November  14,  1785.  A  new  con- 
stitution was  presented,  which,  after  an  angry  discussion,  was 
rejected,  and  one  similar  to  that  of  North  Carolina  was 
adopted.  The  rejected  constitution  was  a  curious  document. 
Full  religious  liberty  was  established,  so  far  as  it  related  to 
forms  of  worship,  but  no  one  was  allowed  to  hold  office  unless 
he  believed  in  Heaven,  Hell,  and  the  Trinity.  Neither  could 
sabbath    breakers,    immoral    men,    clergymen,    doctors,    nor 


468  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

lawyers  hold  office.  Five  days  after  the  adoption  of  the  con- 
stitution, the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  assembled  at  New- 
bern,  and  granted  amnesty  and  full  pardon  to  all  who  were 
engaged  in  revolt  against  the  authority  of  the  State; — and 
many  men  of  influence  returned  to  their  allegiance,  and  resist- 
ance to  the  authority  of  the  state  of  Franklin  assumed  a  more 
determined  form.  Congress  finally  interfered,  put  an  end  to 
the  new  State,  and  restored  the  country  to  North  Carolina.  In- 
dignant at  the  interposition,  the  secessionists  persisted  in  their 
designs,  and  through  their  displaced  governor,  Sevier,  on  the 
12th  of  September,  1788,  informed  the  Spanish  minister,  Gar- 
doquoi,  that  they  were  unanimous  in  their  vehement  desire  to 
form  an  alliance  and  treaty  of  commerce  with  Spain  and  put 
themselves  under  her  protection.  The  settlers  of  the  district 
of  Cumberland  river,  who  were  also  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
North  Carolina,  gave  the  name  of  Miro  to  a  district  they  had 
formed,  as  evidence  of  their  partiality  for  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment. The  promise  of  protection  which  the  inhabitants  of 
the  two  districts  received  from  Gardoquoi  was  so  modified  by 
Miro  that  the  scheme,  though  prosecuted  for  a  time  with 
great  vigor,  finally  failed  from  inability  on  the  part  of  the  se- 
cessionists to  comply  with  the  conditions  of  recognition. 

A  company  composed  of  Alexander  Moultrie,  Isaac  Huger, 
Major  William  Snipes,  Colonel  Washington,  and  other  dis- 
tinguished South  Carolinians  was  formed  at  Charleston  in 
1789,  which  purchased  from  the  State  of  Georgia  fifty-two 
thousand  nine  hundred  (52,900)  square  miles  of  territory  ex- 
tending from  the  Yazoo  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  near 
Natchez.  The  Choctaws,  Chickasaws,  and  Spain  claimed  a 
portion  of  this  territory.  The  ulterior  designs  of  the  company 
in  the  purchase  and  settlement  of  the  country  were  carefully 
concealed  for  some  time.  Wilkinson,  who  was  still  engaged 
in  the  effort  to  dismember  the  Union,  having  heard  of  this  pur- 
chase, lost  no  time  in  communicating  his  views  to  the  com- 
pany and  expressing  a  desire  to  cooperate  with  them  as  their 
agent.  At  the  same  time  he  addressed  a  letter  to  Miro,  in 
which,  after  telling  him  that  he  had  applied  to  the  company 
for  &n  agency,  he  says : — 

"If  I  succeed,  I  am  persuaded  that  I  shall  experience  no 
difficulty  in  adding  their  establishment  to  the  domains  of  His 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  469 

Majesty,  and  this  they  will  soon  discover  to  be  to  their  interest. 
*  *  *  .  *  Yon  will  hare  the  opportunity  to  modify  the  plan 
of  the  company  as  yonr  judgment  and  prudence  will  suggest 
and  the  interest  of  the  King  may  require.  I  will  keep  you  in- 
formed of  every  movement  which  I  shall  observe,  and  it  will 
be  completely  in  your  power  to  break  up  the  projected  settle- 
ment, by  inciting  the  Ohoctaws  to  incommode  the  colonists, 
who  will  thus  be  forced  to  move  off  and  to  establish  themselves 
under  your  government." 

Wilkinson's  application  for  an  agency  was  declined  be- 
cause of  the  appointment  of  Dr.  O'Fallon  before  it  was  re- 
ceived. He  wrote  to  Miro  on  the  subject  of  the  company's 
purposes.  After  speaking  of  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  company  with  the  Federal  Government,  he  states 
that  he  has  induced  them  to  become  subjects  of  Spain,  "under 
the  appearance  of  a  free  and  independent  state,  forming  a  ram- 
part for  the  adjoining  Spanish  territories,  and  establishing 
with  them  an  eternal  reciprocal  alliance  offensive  and  defen- 
sive. This,"  he  continues,  "for  a  beginning,  when  once  se- 
cured with  the  greatest  secrecy,  will  serve,  I  am  fully  per- 
suaded, as  an  example  to  be  followed  by  the  settlements  on  the 
western  side  of  the  mountains,  which  will  separate  from  the 
Atlantic  portion  of  the  Confederacy,  because,  on  account  of 
the  advantages  which  they  will  expect  from  the  privilege  of 
trading  with  our  colony  under  the  protection  of  Spain,  they 
will  unite  with  it  in  the  same  manner  and  as  closely  as  are  the 
Atlantic  States  with  France,  receiving  from  it  every  assistance 
in  war  and  relying  on  its  power  in  the  moment  of  danger." 

In  a  letter  written  to  Miro  on  the  20th  of  June,  Wilkinson 
fully  endorses  the  plans  of  the  company.  Miro  submits  to  the 
Court  at  Madrid  the  documents  unfolding  these  plans,  accom- 
panied by  a  dispatch  in  which  he  sums  up  the  advantages  and 
disadvantages  of  "taking  a  foreign  state  to  board  with  us." 
When  near  the  conclusion,  he  explains  how  he  has  excited  the 
hostility  and  secured  the  opposition  of  all  the  Indian  tribes  to 
the  Americans.  "I  have  recommended  them,"  says  he,  "to  re- 
main quiet,  and  told  them  if  these  people  presented  themselves 
with  a  view  to  settle  on  their  lands,  then  to  make  no  con- 
cessions, and  to  warn  them  off,  but  to  attack  them  in  case  they 
refused  to  withdraw;  and  I  have  promised  that  I  would  supply 
them  with  powder  and  ball  to  defend  their  legitimate  rights." 


470  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

INVASION  OF  LOUISIANA  THREATENED. 

Both  Louisiana  and  the  United  States  became  at  this  time 
apprehensive  that  an  invasion  of  the  former  would  be  attempt- 
ed by  the  British  from  Canada.  Such  an  event  would  impose 
upon  our  Government  the  necessity  of  determining  a  course 
proper  to  be  pursued  should  a  passage  be  asked  by  Great 
Britain  for  her  troops  through  our  territory,  or  should  that 
passage  be  made  without  permission.  The  opportunity  was 
deemed  favorable  to  the  prosecution  of  our  claim  to  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi,  and  negotiations  were  opened  with 
Spain  for  the  purchase  of  the  Island  of  New  Orleans  and  the 
Floridas, — but  Spain  declined  our  offer  of  friendship,  the  only 
consideration  we  were  then  able  to  give,  and  the  project  failed. 
Miro's  administration  terminated  in  1791.  He  was  succeeded 
by  the  Baron  de  Carondelet. 

Such  was  the  confidence  inspired  in  the  Government  by  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  and  the  firm  and  watchful  admin- 
istration of  Washington,  that  not  only  in  the  Eastern  States 
but  in  the  Western  districts  also,  all  intrigues,  cabals,  and 
schemes  of  dismemberment,  during  the  first  three  years  of 
Carondelet's  administration  had  seemingly  expired.  A  brighter 
era  had  dawned  upon  the  country;  hope  had  taken  the  place 
of  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  the  old  patriotism 
which  had  borne  us  through  the  Revolution  reinstated  loyalty 
in  the  bosoms  of  thousands  whose  thoughts  had  been  for  years 
ripening  for  revolt  But  the  danger  was  not  all  over.  Some 
discontented  and  some  ambitious  spirits  yet  remained  in  the 
West.  Great  Britain  cast  a  greedy  eye  occasionally  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  poor  torn,  bleeding  France, 
which  had  just  murdered  her  king,  sent  a  sufficient  number  of 
her  maniac  population  to  our  shores  to  keep  the  spirit  of  mis- 
rule in  action. 

Early  in  the  year  1794  a  society  of  French  Jacobins,  estab- 
lished in  Philadelphia,  sent  to  Louisiana  a  circular  which  was 
widely  distributed  among  the  French  population  of  the  prov- 
ince, appealing  to  them  to  take  up  arms  and  cast  off  the  Span- 
ish yoke.  The  alarm  which  this  gave  the  Baron  de  Carondelet 
was  increased  by  a  knowledge  of  the  efforts  put  forth  by  Genet, 
the  French  minister  to  the  United  States,  to  organize  and  lead 
an  expedition  of  French  and  Americans   against   Louisiana. 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  47 1 

Armed  bands  had  assembled  upon  the  Georgia  frontier  to  join 
it,  and  French  emissaries  were  everywhere  stirring  up  the 
Western  people  to  aid  in  the  invasion.  New  Orleans  was 
strongly  fortified,  and  the  grim  visage  of  war  was  again  wrin- 
kled for  the  conflict. 

TREATY    OF    MADRID. 

Fear  of  English  invasion  over,  Carondelet  addressed  himself 
with  great  vigor  to  the  unfinished  schemes  of  Miro  for  dismem- 
bering the  Union  and  winning  over  the  Western  settlements 
to  Spain,  Meantime,  the  negotiations  so  long  pending  be- 
tween our  Government  and  Spain  culminated  on  the  20th  of 
October,  1795,  in  the  Treaty  of  Madrid.  By  this  treaty  a 
boundary  line  was  established  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Floridas.  Spain  also  conceded  to  our  people  the  free  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi  from  its  source  to  the  sea,  and  agreed 
to  permit  them,  "for  the  term  of  three  years,  to  use  the  port 
of  New  Orleans  as  a  place  of  deposit  for  their  produce  and 
merchandise,  and  export  the  same  free  from  duty  or  charge, 
except  a  reasonable  consideration  to  be  paid  for  storage  and 
other  incidental  expenses;  that  the  term  of  three  years  may, 
by  subsequent  negotiation  be  extended,  or,  instead  of  that 
town,  some  other  point  in  the  island  of  New  Orleans  shall  be 
designated  as  a  place  of  deposit  for  the  American  trade." 

It  was  believed  by  the  provincial  authorities  that  this 
treaty  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  propitiating  the  neutral- 
ity of  our  Government  in  the  event  of  a  war,  at  that  time  immi- 
nent, between  Great  Britain  and  Spain.  They  had  no  faith  in 
its  permanency,  or  that  its  provisions  would  be  observed  by 
Spain  after  her  European  embarrassments  had  been  settled. 
Instead  of  arresting,  it  had  the  effect  to  stimulate  the  efforts 
of  Carondelet  in  his  favorite  plan  for  the  acquisition  of  the 
Western  settlements.  He  made  proposals  to  Sebastian,  In- 
nis,  and  other  early  associates  of  Wilkinson,  and  through  his 
emissaries  approached  Wilkinson  himself  with  promises; — but 
it  was  too  late.  The  Union  had  become  consolidated.  The  wise 
counsels  of  Washington  allayed  discontent,  and  the  successful 
campaign  of  Wayne  had  given  assurance  of  protection.  Wil- 
kinson and  his  associates,  foiled  in  the  designs  formed  and 
conducted  under  more  favorable  auspices,  whatever  their  as- 
pirations might  have  been,  were  too  sagacious  to  revive  an 


472  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

enterprise  which  neither  policy  nor  necessity  could  excuse, 
and  wihich  a  vigilant  government  was  sure  to  punish.  After 
a  few  more  struggles  the  Spanish  authorities,  on  the  26th  of 
May,  1798,  surrendered  to  Wilkinson  (who,  by  the  death  of 
Wayne,  had  been  promoted)  the  territory  claimed  by  the 
Treaty  of  Madrid,  and  the  Spanish  power  in  America  from 
that  moment  began  to  decline. 

Morales,  the  Spanish  intendant,  construing  the  letter  of 
the  treaty  strictly,  on  the  17th  of  July,  1799,  chose  to  con- 
sider that  three  years  had  elapsed  since  its  ratification,  and, 
for  the  purpose  of  crippling  the  commerce  of  the  Western 
people,  issued  an  order  prohibiting  the  use  of  New  Orleans 
as  a  place  of  deposit  by  them,  without  designating,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  treaty,  any  other  suitable  point.  This  measure 
aroused  the  indignation  of  the  West  An  expedition  against 
New  Orleans  was  openly  contemplated.  President  Adams  or- 
dered three  regiments  of  regulars  to  the  Ohio,  with  instruc- 
tions to  have  in  readiness  a  sufficient  number  of  boats  to  con- 
vey the  troops  to  New  Orleans.  Twelve  new  regiments  were 
added  to  the  army,  and  an  invasion  seemed  inevitable,  and 
would  most  certainly  have  been  attempted,  had  not  indica- 
tions of  a  popular  determination  to  elect  Mr.  Jefferson  to  the 
Presidency  caused  the  postponement  of  a  project  which  could 
not  be  completed  before  the  close  of  Mr.  Adams'  administra- 
tion. 

No  public  documents  of  the  period,  accessible  to  me,  speak 
of  the  suspension  by  the  Spaniards  of  this  prohibitory  order^ 
but  from  the  fact  that  it  was  renewed  afterwards,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  terms  of  accommodation  satisfactory  to  the 
Western  people  were  for  the  time  agreed  upon. 

TREATY   OP   ST.    ILDEPHONSO. 

Napoleon,  at  this  time  First  Consul,  cast  a  longing  eye  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  His  ministers  had  been  in- 
structed to  obtain  all  possible  information  concerning  Louisi- 
ana. Monsieur  de  Pontalba,  who  had  passed  an  official  resi- 
dence of  many  years  in  Louisiana,  prepared  at  their  request 
a  very  remarkable  memoir  on  the  history  and  resources  of 
that  province,  which  was  presented  to  the  French  Directory 
on  the  15th  of  September,  1800.  On  the  1st  of  October  fol- 
lowing, a  treaty  between  France  and  Spain  was  concluded  at 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  473 

St.  Ildephonso,  of  which  the  third  article  is  in  the  following 
words : — 

"His  Catholic  Majesty  promises  and  engages  to  retrocede 
to  the  French  Kepublic,  six  months  after  the  full  and  entire 
execution  of  the  above  conditions  and  stipulations  relative 
to  His  Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  Parma,  the  colony  or  prov- 
ince of  Louisiana,  with  the  same  extent  that  it  now  has  in 
the  hands  of  Spain,  and  that  it  had  when  France  possessed  it, 
and  such  as  it  ought  to  be  after  the  treaties  subsequently  en- 
tered into  between  Spain  and  the  other  States." 

France  being  at  war  with  England  when  this  treaty  wa& 
concluded,  it  was,  at  the  request  of  Napoleon,  carefully  con- 
cealed, lest  England,  then  mistress  of  the  seas,  should  take  the 
country  from  her,  as  she  doubtless  would  have  done,  had 
Napoleon  taken  possession  of  the  province. 

Spain  inserted  in  this  treaty  a  condition  that  she  should 
have  the  preference,  in  case  France,  in  her  turn,  should  be 
disposed  again  to  cede  the  territory.  Great  embarrassments 
resulted  from  this  stipulation. 

The  retrocession  of  Louisiana  to  Fraiu-e  was  not  suspected 
by  our  Government  until  March,  1801,  six  months  after  the 
treaty  of  St.  IIdeplions;oi  was  concluded.  It  was  then  brought. 
to  the  notice  of  Mr.  Madison,  the  secretary  of  state,  by  Mr. 
Kufus  King,  our  minister  at  the  court  of  St.  James,  who  wrote 
on  March  29,  1801:— 

"The  cession  of  Tuscany  to  the  infant  Duke  of  Parma,  by 
the  treaty  between  France  and  Austria,  adds  very  great 
credit  to  the  -opinion  which  at  this  time  prevails  both  at  Paris 
and  London,  that  Spain  has  in  return  actually  ceded  Louisi- 
ana and  the  Floridas  to  France.  I  am  apprehensive  that  this 
cession  is  intended  to  have,  and  may  actually  produce,  effects 
injurious  to  the  Union  and  consequent  happiness  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States." 

Mr.  Madison  seems  to  have  shared  the  general  incredulity 
of  England  and  other  powers  regarding  the  event,  for  he  took 
no  notice  of  the  intimation  conveyed  by  Mr.  King's  dispatch, 
until  it  was  partially  confirmed  by  another  from  the  same 
source  on  the  1st  of  June  thereafter.  In  the  first  letter  on  the 
subject  Mr.  King  had  deemed  it  of  sufficient  importance  to 
recommend  the  appointment  of  a  minister  to  represent  the 
interests  of  our  government  near  the  court  of  France.     In 


474  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  last  he  related  the  substance  of  a  conversation  between 
himself  and  Lord  Hawkesbury  relative  to  Louisiana,  in  which 
that  nobleman  said  that  he  had  from  different  quarters  re- 
ceived information  of  the  cession  to  France,  and  very  unre- 
servedly expressed  the  reluctance  with  which  they  should  be 
led  to  acquiesce  in  a  measure  that  might  be  followed  by  the 
most  important  consequences: — that  the  acquisition  might 
enable  France  to  extend  her  influence  and  perhaps  her  domin- 
ion up  the  Mississippi  and  through  the  lakes,  even  to  Canada, 
To  this,  Mr.  King  replied:  "We  are  content  that  the  Floridas 
remain  in  the  hands  of  Spain,  but  should  be  unwilling  to  see 
them  transferred,  except  to  ourselves." 

CLAIM  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENT. 

Our  government  took  the  alarm  instantly.  The  negotia- 
tions it  had  effected  with  Spain,  though  still  embarrassed 
with  some  offensive  conditions,  had  produced  a  state  of  com- 
parative quiescence  in  the  West;  all  dangerous  intrigues  were 
at  an  end,  and  a  further  settlement  had  been  projected  which 
would  harmonize  all  opposing  interests  and  forever  secure  to 
our  Western  possessions  the  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of  free 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  ocean.  Such  an  arrange- 
ment with  France  was  deemed  impossible.  In  the  hands  of 
Napoleon,  Louisiana  would  be  at  once  transformed  into  a 
powerful  empire,  and  the  Mississippi  would  be  used  as  a  high- 
way to  transport  troops  on  errands  of  meditated  invasion  all 
over  the  continent  of  North  America.  In  her  eager  desire 
to  regain  the  Canadian  possessions  taken  from  her  by  Great 
Britain,  France  would  march  her  armies  through  our  terri- 
tories and  inevitably  embroil  us  in  a  war  which  would  prove 
in  the  end  fatal  to  the  liberties  we  had  just  established. 
Heavy  duties  would  necessarily  be  imposed  upon  our  West- 
ern population,  and  all  the  prejudices  now  so  fortunately 
allayed  would  be  revived  against  the  Government  because  of 
its  powerlessness  to  relieve  them. 

Mr.  Madison  addressed  a  dispatch  to  Mr.  Pinckney,  our 
minister  at  Madrid,  requesting  him  to  ascertain  whether  a 
treaty  had  been  made,  and  if  so,  the  extent  of  the  cession 
made  by  it.  The  Government  appointed  Mr.  Robert  R.  Liv- 
ingston minister  to  France. 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  475 

In  November,  1801,  Mr.  King  succeeded  in  procuring  a 
<*opy  of  the  secret  treaty,  and  forwarded  it  to  Mr.  Madison. 
In  the  midst  of  the  alarm  occasioned  by  this  intelligence,  the 
war  between  France  and  England  was  terminated,  and  ar- 
ticles* of  peace  signed  on  the  1st  of  October,  1801,  and  France 
commenced  secret  preparations  to  avail  herself  of  the  treaty 
and  take  early  possession  of  Louisiana.  In  the  meantime 
Mr.  Livingston  had  arrived  in  Paris.  On  the  12th  of  Decem- 
ber, in  a  dispatch  to  Mr.  Madison,  he  informed  him  that  he 
had  hinted  to  one  of  the  ministers  that  a  cession  of  Louisiana 
would  afford  them  the  means  of  paying  their  debts, — to  which 
the  minister  replied :  "None  but  spendthrifts  satisfy  their 
debts  by  selling  their  lands,"  adding,  however,  after  a  short 
pause,  "but  it  is  not  ours  to  give." 

TALLEYRAND'S   DIPLOMACY, 

Talleyrand  was  the  Minister  of  Exterior  Relations.  In  all 
his  interviews  with  Mr.  Livingston  relative  to  the  purchase 
of  Louisiana  he  fully  exemplified  one  of  the  maxims  of  his 
life,  that  "speech  was  given  to  man  to  enable  him  to  disguise 
his  thoughts."  All  of  Mr.  Livingston's  inquiries  respecting 
the  treaty  were  met  with  studied  reserve,  duplicity,  or  posi- 
tive denial.  Often  when  he  sought  an  interview  the  minister 
was  preoccupied  or  absent.  He  not  only  failed  to  obtain  in- 
formation of  the  extent  of  the  cession  and  whether  it  included 
the  Floridas,  but  so  undemonstrative  were  the  communica- 
tions of  the  minister  upon  the  subject,  that  often  he  left  him 
doubtful  of  the  intention  of  France  to  comply  with  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  at  all.  His  dispatches  to  Mr.  Madison,  while 
they  show  no  lack  of  exertion  or  expedient  on  his  part  to  ob- 
tain the  desired  information,  bear  evidence  of  the  subtlety, 
cunning,  and  artifice  of  one  of  the  greatest  masters  of  state- 
craft the  world  has  yet  produced.  At  one  time  he  expresses 
his  concern  at  the  reserve  of  the  French  Government,  and  im- 
portunes Talleyrand  to  inform  him  whether  East  and  West 
Florida  or  either  of  them  are  included  in  the  treaty,  and 
afford  him  such  assurances,  with  respect  to  the  limits  of  their 
territory  and  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  heretofore 
agreed  upon  between  Spain  and  the  United  States,  as  may 
prove  satisfactory  to  the  latter. 


476  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

"If ,"  he  continues  in  the  same  note,  "the  territories  of  East 
and  West  Florida  be  included  within  the  limits  of  the  cession 
obtained  by  France,  the  undersigned  desires  to  be  informed 
how  far  it  would  be  practicable  to  make  such  arrangements- 
between  their  respective  governments,  as  would  at  the  same 
time  aid  the  financial  operations  of  France  and  remove  by  a 
strong  natural  boundary  all  future  causes  of  discontent  be- 
tween her  and  the  United  States." 

Six  days  afterwards  he  writes  to  Mr.  Madison  that  he  has 
received  no  reply  to  the  above  note.  A  month  later  in  a  dis- 
patch he  says:  "They  have  as  yet  not  thought  it  proper  to* 
give  me  any  explanations."  One  month  afterwards  he  writes: 
"The  business  most  interesting  to  us,  that  of  Louisiana,  still 
remains  in  the  state  it  was.  The  minister  will  give  no  answer 
to  any  inquiries  I  make  on  the  subject.  He  will  not  say  what 
their  boundaries  are,  what  are  their  intentions,  and  when  they 
are  to  take  possession." 

Meantime  the  treaty  of  Amiens  opened  the  ocean  to  Bona- 
parte's contemplated  expedition  to  Louisiana,  The  anxiety 
of  our  government  was  greatly  increased.  Mr.  Madison,  in 
a  dispatch  full  of  complaint  at  the  ominous  silence  of  the 
French  minister,  among  other  intimations,  conveys  the  fol- 
lowing:— 

"Since  the  receipt  of  your  last  communication,  no  hope 
remains  but  from  the  accumulating  difficulties  of  going: 
through  with  the  undertaking,  and  from  the  conviction  you 
may  be  able  to  impress  that  it  must  have  an  instant  and  pow- 
erful effect  in  changing  the  relations  between  France  and  the 
United  States," 

Fears  were  entertained  that  the  British  Government 
might  have  acquiesced  in  the  treaty,  so  as  to  impair  the  stipu- 
lations, concerning  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  but 
these  were  dissipated  by  the  assurance  of  Lord  Hawkesbury, 
in  reply  to  a  letter  addressed  to  him  on  the  subject  hj  Mr. 
King,  that  "His  Majesty  had  not  in  any  manner  directly  or 
indirectly  acquiesced  in  or  sanctioned  the  cession." 

TEDIOUS  DELAY. 

Nearly  one  month  after  this  last  dispatch  to  Mr,  Madison,. 
Mr.  Livingston  again  informs  him  that  the  French  Govern- 
ment still  continues  to  hold  the  same  conduct  with  respect 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  477 

to  his  inquiries  in  relation  to  the  designs  on  Louisiana,  but 
assures  him  that  nothing  shall  be  done  to  impair  the  friendly 
relations  between  America  and  France.  Eight  days  after 
this  dispatch  was  written,  he  writes  again  that  he  has  ac- 
quired information  on  which  he  can  depend,  in  relation  to  the 
intention  of  the  French  Government.  "Bernadotte,"  says  he, 
"is  to  command,  Oollot  second  in  command,  Adet  is  to  be  pre- 
fect;" but  the  expedition  is  delayed  until  about  September, 
on  account  of  some  difficulty  which  Mr.  Livingston  conceives 
to  have  "arisen  from  the  different  apprehensions  of  France 
and  Spain  relative  to  the  meaning  of  the  term  Louisiana, 
which  has  been  understood  by  France  to  include  the  Floridas, 
but  probably  by  Spain  to  have  been  confined  to  the  strict 
meaning  of  the  term." 

On  the  30th  of  July,  1802,  Mr.  Livingston  informs  Mr. 
Madison  that  he  is  preparing  a  lengthy  memorial  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  mutual  interest  of  France  and  the  United  States 
relative  to  Louisiana;  and  that  he  has  received  the  explicit 
assurance  of  the  Spanish  ambassador  that  the  Floridas  are 
not  included  in  the  cession. 

On  the  10th  of  August  following  he  again  writes  the  secre- 
tary that  he  has  put  his  essay  in  such  hands  as  he  thinks  will 
best  serve  our  purposes.  "Talleyrand,"  he  says,  "has  prom- 
ised to  give  it  an  attentive  perusal;  after  which,  when  I  find 
how  it  works,  I  will  come  forward  with  some  proposition.  I 
am  very  much  at  a  loss,  however,  as  to  what  terms  you  would 
consider  it  allowable  to  offer,  if  they  can  be  brought  to  a  sale 
of  the  Floridas,  either  with  or  without  New  Orleans,  which 
last  place  will  be  of  little  consequence  if  we  possess  the  Flo- 
ridas, because  a  much  better  passage  may  be  found  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river." 

Mr.  Livingston  now  followed  up  his  interrupted  negotia- 
tions with  activity.  He  made  several  propositions  for  the 
purchase  of  Louisiana,  but  was  informed  by  the  minister  that 
all  offers  were  premature.  "There  never,"  says  Mr.  Living- 
ston in  a  dispatch  to  the  secretary  of  state,  "was  a  Govern- 
ment in  which  less  could  be  done  by  negotiation  than  here. 
There  is  no  people,  no  legislature,  no  counsellors.  One  man 
is  everything.  He  seldom  asks  advice,  and  never  hears  it 
unasked.    His  ministers  are  mere  clerks;  and  his  legislature 


478  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

and  counsellors  parade  officers.  Though  the  sense  of  every 
reflecting  man  about  him  is  against  this  wild  expedition,  no 
one  dares  to  tell  him  so.  Were  it  not  for  the  uneasiness  it  ex- 
cites at  home,  it  would  give  me  none;  for  I  am  persuaded 
that  the  whole  will  end  in  a  relinquishment  of  the  country, 
and  transfer  of  the  capital  to  the  United  States." 

Soon  after  this,  Mr.  Livingston  had  an  interview  with  Jo- 
seph Bonaparte,  who  promised  to  deliver  to  Napoleon  any 
communication  Livingston  could  make.  "You  must  not,  how- 
ever," he  said,  "suppose  my  power  to  serve  you  greater  than  it 
actually  is.  My  brother  is  his  own  counsellor,  but  we  are 
good  brothers.  He  hears  me  with  pleasure,  and  as  I  have  ac- 
cess to  him  at  all  times,  I  have  an  opportunity  of  turning  his 
attention  to  a  particular  subject  that  might  otherwise  be 
passed  over.7'  He  informed  Mr.  Livingston  that  he  had  read 
his  notes  and  conversed  upon  the  subject  with  Napoleon,  who 
told  him  that  he  had  nothing  more  at  heart  than  to  be  upon 
the  best  terms  with  the  United  States, 

On  the  11th  of  November  Mr.  Livingston  wrote  a  hurried 
letter  to  Mr.  Madison,  informing  him  that  orders  had  been 
given  for  the  immediate  embarkation  of  two  demi-brigades 
for  Louisiana,  and  that  they  would  sail  from  Holland  in  about 
twenty  days.  The  sum  voted  for  this  service  was  two  and 
one-half  millions  of  francs.  "No  prudence,"  he  concludes, 
"will,  I  fear,  prevent  hostilities  ere  long,  and  perhaps  the 
sooner  their  plans  develop  themselves  the  better." 

RIGHT  OF  DEPOSIT  PROHIBITED. 

This  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  the  Western  people, 
beginning  to  feel  the  effect  of  a  proclamation  suspending  their 
right  of  deposit  in  New  Orleans,  were  importuning  our  Gov- 
ernment for  relief.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  excite- 
ment which  this  act  had  produced,  on  reading  the  following, 
which  is  one  of  many  similar  appeals  addressed  to  Congress 
by  them: — > 

"The  Mississippi  is  ours  by  the  law  of  nature;  it  belongs 
to  us  by  our  numbers,  and  by  the  labor  which  we  have  be- 
stowed on  those  spots  which,  before  our  arrival,  were  desert 
and  barren.  Our  innumerable  rivers  swell  it,  and  flow  with  it 
into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.    Its  mouth  is  the  only  issue  which 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  479 

nature  has  given  to  our  waters,  and  we  wish  to  use  it  for  our 
vessels.  No  power  in  the  world  shall  deprive  us  of  this  right 
We  do  not  prevent  the  Spaniards  and  the  French  from  ascend- 
ing the  river  to  our  towns  and  villages.  We  wish  in  our  turn, 
without  any  interruption,  to  descend  it  to  its  mouth,  to  as- 
cend  it  again,  and  exercise  our  privilege  of  trading  on  it,  and 
navigating  it  at  our  pleasure.  If  our  most  entire  liberty  in 
this  matter  is  disputed,  nothing  shall  prevent  our  taking  pos- 
session of  the  capital,  and  when  we  are  once  masters  of  it  we 
shall  know  how  to  maintain  ourselves  there.  If  Congress  re- 
fuses us  effectual  protection,  if  it  forsakes  us,  we  will  adopt 
the  measures  which  our  safety  requires,  even  if  they  endanger 
the  peace  of  the  Union  and  our  connection  with  the  other 
states.     No  protection,  no  allegiance." 

Perhaps  at  no  period  in  the  history  of  our  Government 
was  the  Union  in  more  immediate  danger  of  dissolution.  Had 
our  citizens  been  fully  apprised  of  our  relations  with  France 
and  the  neglect  with  which  our  embassador  was  treated, 
nothing  could  have  prevented  an  immediate  secession  of  the 
people  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  Mr.  Madison  saw  the  gather- 
ing of  the  storm,  and  on  the  27th  of  November,  a  few  days 
before  Congress  assembled,  addressed  an  earnest  dispatch 
to  the  American  minister  at  Madrid.  "You  are  aware,"  said 
he,  "of  the  sensibility  of  our  western  citizens  to  such  an  oc- 
currence. This  sensibility  is  justified  by  the  interest  they 
have  at  stake.  The  Mississippi  to  them  is  everything.  It  is 
the  Hudson,  the  Delaware,  the  Potomac,  and  all  the  navigable 
rivers  of  the  Atlantic  States,  formed  into  one  stream/*  *  * 
Whilst  you  presume,  therefore,  in  your  representations  to 
the  Spanish  Government,  that  the  conduct  of  its  officer  is  no 
less  contrary  to  its  intentions  than  it  is  to  its  good  faith,  you 
will  take  care  to  express  the  strongest  confidence  that  the 
breach  of  the  treaty  will  be  repaired  in  every  way  which  jus- 
tice and  regard  for  a  friendly  neighborhood  may  require." 

Congress  met,  and  President  Jefferson,  in  a  message  on 
Louisiana,  said:  "The  cession  of  the  Spanish  province  of 
Louisiana  to  France  which  took  place  in  the  course  of  the 
late  war,  will,  if  carried  into  effect,  make  a  change  in  the  as- 
pect of  our  foreign  relations  which  will  doubtless  have  just 
weight  in  any  deliberations  of  the  legislature  connected  with 


480  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

that  subject."  That  body  replied,  that,  relying  with  perfect 
confidence  on  the  wisdom  and  vigilance  of  the  Executive,  they 
would  wait  the  issue  of  such  measures  as  that  department  of 
the  Government  should  have  pursued  for  asserting  the  rights 
/of  the  United  States, — holding  it  to  be  their  duty  at  the  same 
time  to  express  their  unalterable  determination  to  maintain 
the  boundaries  and  the  rights  of  navigation  and  commerce 
through  the  river  Mississippi,  as  established  by  existing 
treaties. 

MONROE  APPOINTED  MINISTER  EXTRAORDINARY. 

Party  spirit  at  that  time  was  but  another  name  for  party 
animosity.  The  Federalists,  anxious  to  regain  the  power  that 
they  had  lost  by  the  election  of  Jefferson,  seized  upon  the 
subject  of  Mr.  Livingston's  mission  and  the  proclamation  of 
prohibition  by  the  Spanish  intendant,  and  held  them  up  be- 
fore the  people  as  the  necessary  and  inevitable  product  of 
Democratic  principles.  They  were  determined  if  possible  to 
force  the  country  into  a  war  of  invasion  against  New  Orleans 
and  the  country  including  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi, — a 
measure  in  which  the  Western  people  would  generally  co- 
operate. The  administration,  on  the  other  hand,  still  adhered 
to  the  policy  of  negotiation, — and  foreseeing  that  it  must  be 
expeditious  to  avoid  the  inevitable  destruction  of  the  party, 
and  deprive  the  Federals  of  the  prestige  which  their  vigor- 
ous measures  were  acquiring  for  them,  President  Jefferson, 
on  the  10th  of  January,  1803,  wrote  to  Mr.  Monroe: — 

"I  have  but  a  moment  to  inform  you  that  the  fever  into 
which  the  Western  world  is  thrown  by  the  affair  of  New  Or- 
leans, stimulated  by  the  mercantile  and  generally  the  Federal 
interest,  threatens  to  overbear  our  peace.  In  this  situation 
we  are  obliged  to  call  on  you  for  a  temporary  sacrifice  of  your- 
self, to  prevent  this  greatest  of  evils  in  the  present  prosperous 
tide  of  affairs,  I  shall  to-morrow  nominate  you  to  the  Senate 
for  an  extraordinary  mission  to  France,  and  the  circum- 
stances are  such  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  decline;  because 
the  whole  public  hope  will  be  rested  on  you." 

The  Senate  confirmed  the  nomination.  Mr.  Jefferson  again 
wrote  to  Mr.  Monroe,  urging  him  not  to  decline.  "I  know 
nothing/'  he  says,  "which  would  produce  such  a  shock,  for 
on  the  event  of  this  mission  depend  the  future  destinies  of 


THE   LOUISIANA   PURCHASE.  4g| 

this  republic.  If  we  cannot  by  a  purchase  of  the  country  in- 
sure to  ourselves  a  course  of  perpetual  peace  and  friendship 
with  all  nations,  then,  as  war  cannot  be  far  distant,  it  be- 
hooves us  immediately  to  be  preparing  for  that  course,  with- 
out, however,  hastening  it;  and  it  may  be  necessary  (on  your 
failure  on  the  Continent)  to  cross  the  Channel."  We  shall  see 
later  the  significance  of  this  suggestion  that  he  cross  the 
Channel  into  England. 

The  session  of  Congress  had  advanced  to  the  middle  of 
February  before  any  remedial  measures  were  proposed  for  the 
action  of  the  Spanish  intendant  at  New  Orleans.  Every  fresh 
dispatch  from  Mr.  Livingston  was  a  repetition  of  the  old  story 
of  neglect  and  silence.  Meantime  the  Federal  leaders,  in- 
cited by  the  continued  and  growing  disaffection  of  the  West- 
ern people,  as  manifested  by  their  inflammable  appeals  to 
Congress,  had  resolved  upon  recommending  immediate  hos- 
tilities as  the  last  resort  of  the  Government.  The  memora- 
ble debate  which  involved  a  consideration  of  this  question  was 
opened  by  Mr.  Eoss,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the  14th  of  Febru- 
ary, in  a  speech  of  remarkable  force.  The  infraction  of  the 
treaty  of  Madrid  in  1795,  by  which  the  right  of  deposit  had 
been  solemnly  acknowledged,  was  claimed  to  be  a  sufficient 
justification  for  a  resort  to  arms.  In  the  further  progress  of 
this  argument  the  speaker  considered  the  opportunity  as  too 
favorable  to  be  lost,  because  success  would  be  more  assured 
if  a  war  was  prosecuted  while  the  Spaniards  held  possession 
of  the  country  than  it  would  be  after  if  had  passed  under  the 
dominion  of  France.  With  New  Orleans  in  our  possession, 
we  could  dictate  the  terms  of  a  treaty  that  would  forever  se- 
cure our  citizens  from  further  molestation.  These  views  were 
enforced  by  urgent  appeals  to  the  patriotism  of  the  people, 
and  the  sternest  denunciation  of  the  tardy  policy  of  the  ad- 
ministration. At  the  close  of  his  speech  Mr.  Ross  presented 
a  series  of  resolutions  declaring  the  right  of  the  people  to  the 
free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and  a  convenient  place  of 
deposit  for  their  produce  and  merchandise  in  the  island  of 
New  Orleans.  The  President  would  have  been  authorized 
by  the  passage  of  these  resolutions  to  take  possession  of  such 
place  or  places  in  the  island  or  adjacent  territories  as  he 
might  deem  fit,  and  to  call  into  actual  service  fifty  thousand 
31 


482  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

militia  to  cooperate  with  the  regular  military  and  naval  forces 
in  the  work  of  invasion.  They  also  provided  for  an  appropria- 
tion of  five  millions  of  dollars  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
war. 

A  long  and  exhaustive  debate  followed,  in  which  the 
speeches  on  both  sides  were  marked  by  distinguished  ability 
and  eloquence, — those  of  Mr.  Clinton  against,  and  of  Mr.  Mor- 
ris in  favor  of  the  resolutions,  being  among  the  ablest  ever 
before  or  since  delivered  on  the  floor  of  Congress.  Milder 
measures  were  finally  substituted,  authorizing  the  enrolment 
of  an  army  of  eighty  thousand  men  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
President,  and  Congress  adjourned. 

Meantime  Mr.  Livingston  reported  some  little  progress  in 
the  work  of  negotiation,  and  had  addressed  a  memorial  to 
Bonaparte  complaining  of  the  conduct  of  the  Spanish  intend- 
ant.  Just  at  this  time  hostilities  were  again  about  to  be  re- 
newed between  England  and  France.  Mr.  Addington,  the 
British  minister,  in  a  conversation  with  Mr.  King  upon  the 
subject,  observed  that  in  case  of  war  it  would  be  one  of  the 
first  steps  of  Great  Britain  to  occupy  New  Orleans.  On  the 
11th  of  April,  in  an  interview  with  Talleyrand,  that  minister 
desired  to  know  of  Mr.  Livingston  if  our  Government  wished 
to  purchase  the  whole  of  Lousiana.  On  receiving  a  negative 
reply,  he  remarked  that  if  they  gave  New  Orleans,  the  rest 
would  be  of  little  value.  "Tell  me/'  he  continued,  "what  you 
will  give  for  the  whole?"  At  the  close  of  the  dispatch  con- 
veying this  information  to  Mr.  Madison,  Mr.  Livingston  ap- 
pends a  postscript  saying:  "Orders  are  given, this  day  to 
stop  the  sailing  of  vessels  from  the  French  ports;  war  is 
inevitable;  my  conjecture  as  to  their  determination  to  sell 
is  well  founded.    Mr.  Monroe  has  just  arrived." 

BONAPARTE'S  PROPOSITION. 

Fear  that  Great  Britain  would  make  an  early  attack  upon 
New  Orleans,  now  that  war  between  England  and  France 
was  certain,  favored  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Livingston  for  an  early 
purchase,  and  increased  the  anxiety  of  France  to  dispose  of 
the  entire  province.  Indeed,  in  a  consultation  held  with 
Decree  and  Marbois  on  the  10th  of  April,  Napoleon  fully  re- 
solved to  sell  the  whole  of  Louisiana.  The  little  coquetry 
that  followed  between  Talleyrand,  Marbois  and  Livingston, 


THE  LOUISIANA  PUKCHASE.  4gg 

was  simply  to  obtain  as  large  a  price  as  possible.  Napoleon 
then  said,  "I  know  the  full  value  of  Louisiana,  and  I  have  been 
desirous  of  repairing  the  fault  of  the  French  negotiator,  who 
abandoned  it  in  1762.  A  few  lines  of  treaty  have  restored  it 
to  me,  and  I  have  scarcely  recovered  it  when  I  must  expect 
to  lose  it.  But  if  it  escapes  from  me,  it  shall  one  day  cost 
dearer  to  those  who  oblige  me  to  strip  myself  of  it,  than  to 
those  to  whom  I  wish  to  deliver  it.  The  English  have  suc- 
cessively taken  from  France,  Canada,  Cape  Breton,  New 
Foundland,  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  richest  portions  of  Asia. 
They  are  engaged  in  exciting  trouble  in  St.  Domingo.  They 
shall  not  have  the  Mississippi,  which  they  covet.  Louisiana  is 
nothing  in  comparison  with  their  conquests  in  all  parts  of  the 
globe,  and  yet  the  jealousy  they  feel  at  the  restoration  of  this 
colony  to  the  sovereignty  of  France  acquaints  me  with  their 
wish  to  take  possession  of  it,  and  it  is  thus  they  will  begin 
the  war." 

The  morning  after  this  conference  he  summoned  his  min- 
isters, and  terminated  a  long  interview  in  the  following 
words: — "Irresolution  and  deliberation  are  no  longer  in  sea- 
son. I  renounce  Louisiana.  It  is  not  only  New  Orleans  I 
will  cede, — it  is  the  whole  colony  without  any  reservation.  I 
know  the  price  of  what  I  abandon,  and  have  sufficiently 
proved  the  importance  that  I  attach  to  this  province, — since 
my  first  diplomatic  act  with  Spain  had  for  its  object  its  re- 
covery. I  renounce  it  with  the  greatest  regret.  To  attempt 
obstinately  to  retain  it  would  be  folly.  I  direct  you  to  nego- 
tiate this  affair  with  the  envoys  of  the  United  States.  Do 
not  even  await  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Monroe; — have  an  interview 
this  very  day  with  Mr.  Livingston.  But  I  require  a  great  deal 
of  money  for  this  war,  and  I  would  not  like  to  commence  it 
with  new  contributions.  *  *  *  *  I  will  be  moderate  in 
consideration  of  the  necessity  in  which  I  am  of  making  a  sale. 
But  keep  this  to  yourself.  I  want  fifty  millions,  and  for  less 
than  that  sum  I  will  not  treat;  I  would  rather  make  a  des- 
perate attempt  to  keep  these  fine  countries.  To-morrow  you 
shall  have  full  powers." 

LOUISIANA  PURCHASE  TREATY  SIGNED. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1803,  the  treaty  of  cession  was 
signed.    Louisiana  was  transferred  to  the  United  States   on 


484  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

condition  that  our  government  should  consent  to  pay  to 
France  eighty  millions  of  francs.  Of  this  amount,  twenty 
millions  should  be  assigned  to  the  payment  of  what  was  due 
by  France  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Article  3rd 
of  the  treaty  was  prepared  by  Napoleon  himself.     It  reads : — 

"The  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory  shall  be  incorpo- 
rated in  the  Union  of  the  United  States,  and  admitted,  as  soon 
as  possible  according  to  the  principles  of  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution, to  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights,  advantages  and  im- 
munities of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  in  the  mean- 
time they  shall  be  maintained  and  protected  in  the  free  en- 
joyment of  their  liberty,  property,  and  the  religion  which 
they  profess." 

After  the  treaty  was  signed,  the  ministers  rose  and  shook 
hands,  and  Mr.  Livingston,  expressing  the  satisfaction  which 
they  felt,  said:  "We  have  lived  long,  but  this  is  the  noblest 
work  of  our  whole  lives.  The  treaty  which  we  have  just 
signed  has  not  been  obtained  by  art  or  dictated  by  force:— 
equally  advantageous  to  the  two  contracting  parties,  it  will 
change  vast  solitudes  into  flourishing  districts.  From  this 
day  the  United  States  takes  its  place  among  the  powers  of  the 
first  rank; — the  English  lose  all  exclusive  influence  in  the 
affairs  of  America.  Thus  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  Euro- 
pean rivalries  and  animosities  is  about  to  cease.  However,  if 
wars  are  inevitable,  France  will  hereafter  have  in  the  "New 
World  a  natural  friend,  that  must  increase  in  strength  from 
year  to  year,  and  one  which  cannot  fail  to  become  powerful 
and  respected  in  every  sea.  The  United  States  will  re- 
establish the  maritime  rights  of  all  the  world,  which  are  now 
usurped  by  a  single  nation.  These  treaties  will  thus  be  a 
guarantee  of  peace  and  concord  among  commercial  states. 
The  instruments  which  we  have  just  signed  will  cause  no 
tears  to  be  shed;  they  prepare  ages  of  happiness  for  innu- 
merable generations  of  human  creatures.  The  Mississippi  and 
Missouri  will  see  them  succeed  one  another  and  multiply, 
truly  worthy  of  the  regard  and  care  of  Providence,  in  the 
bosom  of  equality,  under  just  laws,  freed  from  the  errors  of 
superstition  and  the  scourge  of  bad  government." 

When  Napoleon  was  informed   of  the  conclusion   of  the 
treaty,  he  uttered  the  following  sententious  prophecy:    "This 


THE   LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  485 

accession  of  territory  strengthens  forever  the  power  of  the 
United  States; — and  I  have  just  given  to  England  a  maritime 
rival  that  will  sooner  or  later  humble  her  pride." 

Neither  of  the  contracting  parties  to  this  treaty  was  able 
to  define  the  boundaries  of  the  vast  territory  of  which  it  was 
the  subject.  They  were  known  to  be  immense,  and  in  his 
message  to  Congress  announcing  the  purchase,  Mr.  Jefferson 
says : — 

"Whilst  the  property  and  sovereignty  of  the  Mississippi 
and  its  waters  secure  an  independent  outlet  for  the  produce 
of  the  Western  States  and  an  uncontrolled  navigation  through 
their  whole  course,  free  from  collision  with  other  powers  and 
the  dangers  to  our  peace  from  that  source,  the  fertility  of  the 
country,  its  climate  and  extent,  promise  in  due  season  im- 
portant aids  to  our  treasury,  an  ample  provision  for  our  pos- 
terity, and  a  wider  spread  for  the  blessings  of  freedom  and 
equal  laws." 

Up  to  this  time  Spain  had  continued  in  actual  and  unin- 
terrupted possession  of  the  territory; — and,  pending  the  rati- 
fication of  the  treaty,  the  Spanish  minister  served  notice 
upon  our  Government  that  the  treaty  with  France  would  be 
void,  on  the  ground  that  France  had  agreed  that  Spain  should 
have  the  preference,  in  case  France  should  again  cede  Louisi- 
ana. President  Jefferson  replied  that  these  were  private 
questions  between  France  and  Spain; — that  the  United  States 
derived  its  title  from  Napoleon,  and  did  not  doubt  his  guar- 
antee of  it; — and  after  farther  unavailing  protest,  Spain  re- 
luctantly abandoned  her  claim  to  the  territory. 

TEXAS  INCLUDED  IN  THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE. 

Was  Texas,  as  re-annexed  to  the  United  States  in  1845,  a 
part  of  the  original  Louisiana  Purchase?  If  so,  under  what 
circumstances  did  it  pass  from  our  possession,  so  that  its  re- 
covery resulted  in  the  war  with  Mexico?  If  we  did  not  ac- 
quire it  in  that  purchase,  why  did  we  cede  it  to  Spain  in  1819, 
in  exchange  for  the  Floridas? 

The  United  States  claimed  that  the  territory  ceded  to  her 
by  France,  extended  to  the  Rio  Bravo  river,  now  called  the  Rio 
Grande  del  Norte.  The  attitude  of  France  was  in  support  of 
our  government  in  this  contention,  she  basing  her  own  claim 
to  the  territory  prior  to  the  date  of  its  cession  by  her  to  Spain 


486  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

in  1762,  upon  its  occupancy  by  LaSalle,  who,  with  sixty  men, 
descended  the  Mississippi  in  1682,  and  took  possession,  in  the 
name  of  Louis  XIV.,  of  all  the  country  drained  by  the  tribu- 
taries of  the  Mississippi  on  the  west, — to  which  he  gave  the 
name  Louisiana,  and  built  Fort  Prudhctome.  Two  years  later 
he  sailed  from  LaRochelle,  France,  with  a  company  of  two 
hundred  and  eighty  men,  and,  haying  passed  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  through  an  error  in  the  computation  of  longitude, 
he  landed  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard,  or  Matagorda  Bay,  built 
forts,  and  placed  garrisons  in  them.  LaSalle's  explorations 
along  the  shore  of  the  Grulf  of  Mexico  extended  no  farther  west 
than  Matagorda  Bay  and  the  rivers  which  flow  into  it.  France 
therefore  could  not  make  claim  by  virtue  of  LaBalle's  "discov- 
ery and  occupancy"  alone,  to  any  portion  of  the  country  lying 
south  or  west  of  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  waters  of  Mata- 
gorda Bay  and  the  Rio  Grande.  The  territory  north  and  east 
of  these  limits  embraces  about  three-fifths  of  the  state  of 
Texas,    In  1685,  LaSalle  was  killed  upon  the  soil  of  Texas. 

In  the  year  1699,  Louis  XIV.  sent  D'Iberville  to  found  a 
new  colony,  of  which  he  was  made  Governor.  D'Iberville  tooK 
possession  of  the  country  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mobile  to  the 
Bay  of  St.  Bernard,  in  the  name  of  France.  Of  this  possession, 
Marbois,  in  his  "History  of  Louisiana",  says: — 

The  occupation  was  hardly  contested  by  the  Spaniards,  and  the 
relations  of  amity  and  common  interest  which  were  established  at  the 
beginning  of  the  18th  century  between  the  two  kingdoms,  put  an  end  to 
any  claims  on  the  part  of  the  court  of  Madrid.  There  was  however  no  set- 
tlement  of  boundaries;— and  it  appears  that,  on  the  one  side,  the  Span- 
iards were  afraid  that  if  they  were  accurately  described,  they  would 
have  to  consent  to  some  concessions;— and  on  the  other,  the  French 
were  unwilling  to  limit,  by  precise  terms,  their  possible  extension  of 
territory. 

Louis  XIV.,  in  1712,  also  issued  letters  patent  to  Orozat, 
granting  him  the  exclusive  right,  for  twelve  years,  to  trade  in 
this  colony,  which  included  Texas.  Marbois,  in  speaking  of 
this  privilege,  says: — 

The  Government  had  only  a  very  vague  notion  of  what  it  was  grant- 
ing. *  *  *  The  limits  of  Louisiana  were  not  afterwards  much  better 
defined;— but  agreeably  to  the  practice  which  certain  maritime  powers 


THE  LGUISIANA  PURCHASE.  437 

had  made  a  principle  of  the  law  of  nations,  the  effect  of  the  occupation 
of  the  months  of  rivers  and  streams  extended  to  their  sources. 

Marbois  says  that  according  to  old  documents,  the  bishop- 
ric of  Louisiana  extended  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  and  the  Umits  of 
the  diocese  thus  defined  were  secure  from  all  dispute; — but  that 
the  spiritual  jurisdiction  had  no  connection  with  the  rights  of 
sovereignty  and  property. 

France  continued  in  almost  undisputed  possession  of  the 
country  for  eighty  years,  or  until  her  treaty  of  cession  to  Spain 
in  1762.  France  believed  that  the  territory  belonged  to  her 
prior  to  1762,  and  there  can  exist  little  doubt  that  she  in- 
tended to  include  it  all  in  the  cession  to  Spain  in  that  year; — 
and  it  is  equally  evident  that  Spain  relinquished  her  claim  to 
all  that  she  acquired  from  France  under  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
of  St.  Ildephonso,  when  she  retroceded  "Louisiana  with  the 
same  extent  that  it  now  has  in  the  hands  of  Spain,  and  that 
it  had  when  France  possessed  it."  Both  France  and  Spain 
clearly  understood  that  Louisiana  extended  on  the  west  to  the 
Rio  Grande.  The  only  question  at  issue  was  that  relating  to 
the  eastern  limit  of  Louisiana,  and  it  was  in  reply s  to  Living- 
ston's question,  "What  are  the  eastern  bounds  of  Louisiana?" 
that  Talleyrand  replied,  "I  do  not  know.  You  must  take  it  as 
we  received  it." 

Upon  the  execution  of  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildephonso,  the 
French  General,  Victor,  was  designated  by  Decres,  Napoleon's 
Minister  of  Marine,  to  take  possession  of  Louisiana.  In  the  in- 
structions which  he  prepared  for  the  guidance  of  Victor, 
Decres  said:- — 

The  extent  of  Louisiana  is  well  determined  on  the  south  by  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  But  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  river  called  the  Bio 
Bravo,  from  its  mouth  to  about  the  thirtieth  parallel,  the  line  of  de- 
marcation stops  after  reaching  this  point,  and  there  seems  never  to 
have  been  any  agreement  in  regard  to  this  part  of  the  frontier.  The 
farther  we  go  northward  the  more  undecided  is  the  boundary.  This 
part  of  America  contains  little  more  than  uninhabited  forests  or  Indian 
tribes,  and  the  necessity  of  fixing  a  boundary  has  never  j^t  been  felt 
there. 

These  instructions,  given  immediately  after  the  cession  by 
Spain  to  France,  and  in  anticipation  of  her  taking  possession 


488  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

O'f  the  country,  can  leave  little  doubt  that  both  France  and 
S£>ain  regarded  the  Bio  Grande  as  the  western  boundary  of 
Louisiana.  Decres  was  the  able  coadjutor  of  Marbois  in  the 
negotiations  with  Livingston  and  Monroe  for  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana. 

The  Hon.  Binger  Hermann,  commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office,  in  his  "admirable  work  "The  Louisiana  Purchase/7 
which  comprises  a  concise  history  of  our  various  acquisitions 
of  territory  during  the  past  century,  says: — 

Our  nation  always  claimed,  as  did  France,  that  the  Louisiana  Pur- 
chase extended  westward  to  the  Rio  Bravo,  because  of  the  settlement 
made  by  LaSalle,  when,  on  his  return  from  France,  failing  to  find  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  he  landed  on  the  coast  of  what  is  now  Texas; 
therefore,  the  French  always  regarded  the  mouth  of  the  Del  Norte  as 
the  western  limit  of  Louisiana  on  the  Gulf  coast.  Popple,  an  eminent 
English  geographer  at  that  time,  conceded  this  claim,  and  represented 
on  his  map  the  Del  Norte  as  the  western  limit  of  Louisiana.  The  United 
States  on  this  ground  claimed  Texas  up  to  1819,  and  then  abandoned  it 
when  Spain  ceded  to  us  the  two  Floridas.  It  was  said  at  the  time 
that  the  Spaniards  prided  themselves  on  their  diplomacy  in  saving 
Texas  by  surrendering  Florida;  indeed,  there  is  much  truth  in  this 
boast,  when  we  know  how  intently  resolved  our  people  were  to  possess 
the  Floridas,  and  hence  we  may  well  infer  how  ready  they  also  were 
to  relinquish  very  substantial  claims  in  order  to  acquire  the  long  en- 
vied Florida  possessions ;— this  view  is  corroborated  by  reference  to 
President  Monroe's  message  to  Congress,  December  7,  1819,  concerning 
the  treaty  with  Spain  in  that  year,  wherein  lie  says:  "For  territory 
ceded  by  Spain,  other  territory  of  great  value  (Texas)  to  which  our 
claim  was  believed  to  be  well  founded,  was  ceded  by  the  United  States, 
and  in  a  quarter  more  interesting  to  her."  A  quarter  of  a  century 
later  on  there  was  still  a  vivid  remembrance  of  our  old  claim  to  Texas 
under  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  and  when,  in  1844,  the  annexation  of 
Texas  was  accomplished,  President  Tyler,  in  his  message  to  the  Senate 
announcing  the  negotiation  of  that  treaty,  said  that  in  event  of  the  ap- 
proval of  annexation,  "the  Government  will  have  succeeded  in  reclaim- 
ing a  territory  which  formerly  constituted  a  portion,  as  is  confidently 
believed,  of  its  domain  under  treaty  of  cession  of  1808,  by  France  to  the 
United  States." 

In  the  progress  of  the  debate  upon  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
Thomas  H.  Benton  said : — 

The  oldest  advocate  for  the  recovery  of  Texas.  I  must  be  allowed 
to  speak  in  just  terms  of  the  criminal  politicians  who  prostituted  the 
question  of  its  recovery  to  their  base  purposes,  and  delayed  its  success 
by  degrading  and  disgracing  it.    A  western  man,  and  coming  from  a 


THE'  LOUISIANA  PUBCHASE.  489 

State  more  than  any  interested  in  the  recoveW  of  this  country  so  un- 
accountably thrown  away  by  the  treaty  of  1819)  I  must  he  allowed  to 
feel  indignant  at  seeing  Atlantic  politicians  seizing  upon  it. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  the  speeches  made  in  Con- 
gress at  the  time  of  the  admission  of  Texas  to  the  Union,  the 
act  was  usually  referred  to  not  as  the  "annexation;1'  but  as  the 
"re-annexation"  of  Texas, 

When  the  cession  by  France  to  the  United  States,  of  the 
whole  colony  of  Louisiana  was  agreed  upon,  Livingston  and 
Monroe  thought  that  the  terms  in  the  third  article  of  the 
treaty,  defining  the  extent  of  the  territory,  were  too  general, 
and  insisted  that  the  true  extent  of  Louisiana  be  specifically 
defined.  The  French  negotiator  said  that  circumstances  were 
too  pressing  to  permit  them  to  consult  the  Court  of  Madrid, 
and  that  Spain  mi^ht  wish  to  consult  the  viceroy  of  Mexico, 
thus  prolonging  the  discussion,  and  that  it  would  be  better  for 
the  United  States  to  abide  by  a  general  stipulation,  as  the 
country  was  still  for  the  most  part  in  possession  of  the  In- 
dians;— and  reminded  them  that  in  granting  Canada  to  the 
English  in  1763,  France  only  ceded  the  country  it  possessed 
without  specifically  denning  its  limits; — yet  England,  in  con- 
sequence of  that  treaty,  occupied  territory  as  far  west  as  the 
Northern  Ocean.  This  reasoning  seemed  to  satisfy  Livingston 
and  Monroe,  and  they  made  no  more  objections.  Marbois, 
writing,  a  quarter  of  a  century  later,  of  this  incident,  says : — 

If,  in  appearing  to  be  resigned  to  these  general  terms  through  neces- 
sity, they  considered  them  really  preferable  to  more  precise  stipula- 
tions, it  must  be  admitted  that  the  event  has  justified  their  foresight. 

When  Napoleon's  attention  was  directed  to  the  obscurity 
and  uncertainty  of  this  stipulation,  he  said: — 

If  an  obscurity  doe®  not  already  exist,  it  would  perhaps  be  good 
policy  to  put  one  there. 

While  there  undoubtedly  did  exist  much  obscurity  in  the 
minds  of  the  negotiators  of  these  several  treaties  concerning 
the  western  limit  of  the  ceded  territory,  France  was  prepared 
to  defend,  and,  had  she  not  ceded  it  to  the  United  States,. 
would  have  successfully  defended,  by  negotiation  or  conquest, 
her  right  to  the  territory  as  far  west  as  the  Rio  Grande,  against 


490  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

any  claim  which  Spain  might  have  made..  The  territory  with 
this  extent,  including  the  Texas  re-annexation,  was  specifically 
known  as  Louisiana.  It  had  been  in  the  possession  of  France 
for  eighty  years  prior  to  1762; — and  whatever  France  ceded  to 
Spain  at  that  time,  she  again  ceded  tlo  tlhe  United  States  in 
1803.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  "Texas  re-annexation" 
of  184J5,  was,  in  1803,  part  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase. 

VIEWS  OF  CONGRESSMEN. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  public  men  of  that  day  should 
have  feared  the  consequences  of  enlarging  our  republican  do- 
main. It  looked  to  them  like  the  renewal  of  the  troubles 
which  they  had  just  escaped,  by  the  purchase  of  New  Orleans 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  It  unsettled  the  ideas  they 
liad  formed  of  a  Constitutional  Government.  They  could  not 
see,  as  we  can  in  this  day  of  railroads  and  swift  postal  service, 
and  of  telegraphs,  giving  immediate  information  concerning 
the  affairs  of  the  nation,  how  such  an  immense  territory  was 
to  be  subordinated  to  the  control  of  a  single  General  Govern- 
ment. Hence  we  find  such  men  as  John  Quiney  Adams,  Tim- 
othy Pickering,  Rufus  Griswold,  James  White,  and  Uriah 
Tracy,  all  men  of  enlarged,  statesmanlike  views,  opposing  the 
bill  entitled  "An  Act  authorizing  the  erection  of  a  stock  to 
the  amount  of  eleven  millions  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect  the  convention 
of  the  30th  of  April,  1803,  between  the  United  States,  and  the 
French  Republic." 

The  speech  of  Mr.  White  against  the  passage  of  the  bill  is 
a  fair  reflex  of  the  views  entertained  by  the  leading  public 
men  of  that  day.    Speaking  of  the  treaty,  he  says : — 

I  wish  not  to  be  understood  as  predicting  that  the  French  will  not 
cede  to  us  the  actual  and  quiet  possession  of  the  territory.  I  hope  to 
God  they  may,  for  possession  of  it  we  must  have:— I  mean  of  New  Or- 
leans  and  of  such  other  portion®  on  the  Mississippi  as  may  be  nieces- 
sary  to  secure  to  us  forever  the  complete  and  uninterrupted  naviga- 
tion of  that  river.  This  I  have  ever  been  in  favor  of.  I  think  it  essen- 
tial to  the  peace  of  the  United  States  and  the  prosperity  of  our  West- 
ern country.  But  as  to  Louisiana,  this  new,  immense,  unbounded 
world,— if  it  should  be  ever  incorporated  into  this  Union,  which  I  have 
no  idea  can  be  done  but  by  altering  the  Constitution,  I  believe  it  will 
be  the  greatest  curse  that  could  at  present  befall  us;— it  may  be  pro- 
ductive of  innumerable  evils,  and  especially  of  one  that  I  fear  even  to 
look  upon.    Gentlemen  on  all  sides,  with  very  few  exception*,  agree 


THE   LOUISIANA  PITKCHASE.  49  \ 

that  the  settlement  of  the  country  will  be  highly  injurious  and  danger- 
ous to  the  United  States;  but  as  to  what  has  been  suggested  of  remov- 
ing the  Creeks  and  other  nations  of  Indian®  from  the  eastern  to  the 
western  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and  making  the  fertile  regions  of 
Louisiana  a  howling  wilderness,  never  to  be  trodden  by  the  foot  of 
civilized  man,  it  is  impracticable.  *  *  *  To  every  man  acquainted 
with  the  adventurous,  roving,  and  enterprising  temper  of  our  people, 
and  with  the  manner  in  which  our  Western  country  has  been  settled, 
such  an  idea  must  be  chimerical.  The  inducements  will  be  so  strong, 
that  it  will  be  impossible  to  restrain  our  citizens  from  crossing  the 
river.  Louisiana  must  and  will  be  settled,  if  we  hold  it,  and  with  the 
very  population  that  would  otherwise  occupy  part  of  our  present  ter- 
ritory. Thus  our  citizens  will  be  removed  to  the  immense  distance 
of  two  or  three  thousand  miles  from  the  capital  of  the  Union^  where 
they  will  scarcely  ever  feel  the  rays  of  the  General  Government;  their 
affections  will  become  alienated;  they  will  gradually  begin  to  view 
us  as  strangers;  they  will  form  other  commercial  connections;  and 
our  interests  will  become  distinct. 

These,  with  other  causes  that  human  wisdom  may  not  now  fore- 
see, will  in  time  effect  a  separation,  and  I  fear  our  bounds  will  be 
fixed  nearer  to  our  houses  than  the  water  of  the  Mississippi.  We  have 
already  territory  enough,  and  when  I  contemplate  the  evils  that  may 
arise  to  these  States  from  this  intended  incorporation  of  Louisiana  into 
the  Union,  I  would  rather  see  it  given  to  France,  to  Spain,  or  to  any 
other  nation  of  the  earth,  upon  the  mere  condition  that  no  citizen  of 
the  United  States  should  ever  settle  within  its  limits,  than  to  see  the 
territory  sold  for  a  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  and  we  retain  the  sov- 
ereignty. *  *  *  And  I  do  say  that,  under  existing  circumstances, 
<even  supposing  that  this  extent  of  territory  was  a  desirable  acquisition, 
fifteen  millions  of  dollars  was  a  most  enormous  sum  to  give. 

This  "enormous  sum"  was  less  than  three  cents  an  acre 
for  this  immense  domain,  which  had,  in  1890,  as  shown  by  the 
U.  S.  census,  a  population  of  over  11,000,000  people,  and  to 
say  nothing  of  its  yield  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  coal  and  lumber, 
whose  agricultural  products  alone  in  1896,  amounted  to  $345,- 
000,000. 

The  dread  of  the  disastrous  consequences  which  Mr.  White 
feared  would  follow  the  crossing  of  the  Mississippi  river  for 
the  purposes  of  settlement,  found  expression  at  that  time  in 
a  resolution  presented  in  Congress,  declaring  that  any  Ameri- 
can citizen  who  should  cross  the  Mississippi  river  for  the  pur- 
pose of  settlement,  should,  by  that  act,  forfeit  all  claim  to  the 
protection  of  his  Government. 

We  can  to-day  readily  see  that  the  questions  which  are  now 
engrossing  the  attention  of  the  country  concerning  the  aequi- 


492  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS, 

sition  of  new  territory  in  the  Philippines  are  not  new  ques- 
tions. The  history  of  one  hundred  years  ago  is  to-day  repeat- 
ing itself  in  every  essential  feature.  The  arguments  of  to-day 
are  those  of  a  century  ago.  The  question  of  the  constitutional 
right  of  our  Government  to  purchase  Louisiana,  and  the  larger 
question  of  the  expediency  of  forming  an  Anglo-American  alli- 
ance should  France  attempt  openly  to  take  possession  of  the 
vast  region  which  she  had  acquired  under  the  secret  treaty 
with  Spain,  were,  in  their  immediate  results  as  well  as  in  their 
distant  consequences,  fully  discussed  on  the  floor  of  Congress 
and  in  the  diplomatic  correspondence  of  President  Jefferson. 
Some  of  the  New  England  members  of  Congress,  foreseeing 
that  in  a  brief  period  of  time  many  new  States  would  be 
formed  out  of  the  Louisiana  purchase,  and  deprecating  a  loss 
of  the  political  supremacy  of  their  own  States  in  the  national 
Legislature,  were  ready  to  dissolve  the  Union  on  this  issue. 
Even  after  the  Louisiana  treaty  was  ratified  by  the  payment 
of  the  purchase  money  and  the  country  at  large  had  begun  to 
realize  the  value  of  its  new  possessions,  there  was  seemingly 
no  abatement  of  this  feeling; — and  eight  years  later,  when 
the  bill  admitting  Louisiana  into  the  Union  as  a  State  was 
under  discussion  in  the  United  States  Senate,  Josiah  Quincy, 
then  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  uttered  these  words: — 

I  am  compelled  to  declare  it  as  my  deliberate  opinion,  that  if  this; 
bill  passes,  the  bonds  of  this  Union  are  virtually  dissolved;— that  the 
States  which  compose  it  are  free  from  their  moral  obligations;— and 
that  as  it  will  be  the  right  of  all,  so  it  will  be  the  duty  of  some  to  pre- 
pare, definitely,  for  a  separation;— amicably  if  they  can,  violently  if 
they  must 

At  this  point  in  the  debate  he  was  called  to  order  by  Mr. 
Poindexter,  delegate  in  Congress  for  Mississippi  (which  was 
then  a  Territory),  for  the  utterance  of  these  words  of  treason 
against  the  United  States  Government. 

Just  fifty  years  later  the  conditions  were  changed,  and  it 
was  Mississippi  and  not  Massachusetts  that  sought  to  separate 
herself  from  the  Union. 

Following  this  remarkable  declaration,  Mr.  Quincy  said: — - 

I  have  already  heard  of  six  States,  and  some  say  there  will  be,  at 
no  great  distance  of  time,  more. 

Were  Mr.  Quincy  in  the  United  States  Senate  to-day,  he 
would  be  greeted  by  forty  of  his  Senatorial  colleagues,  and 


THE   LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  493 

nearly  one  hundred  members  of  the  lower  house  of  Congress, 
from  twenty  States  in  the  Union  formed  out  of  the  Louisiana 
purchase  and  other  and  later  acquisitions  of  territory. 

Mr.  Tracy,  after  delivering  an  elaborate  argument  on  the 
subject,  in  which  he  arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  the  pur- 
chase itself  is  constitutional,  says: — 

We  can  hold  the  territory;— but  to  admit  the  inhabitants  into  the 
Union,  to  make  citizens  of  them,  and  to  make  States  by  treaty,  we  can- 
not constitutionally  do;-nand  no  subsequent  act  of  legislation,  or  even 
ordinary  amendment  to  our  Constitution,  can  legalize  such  a,  measure. 
If  done  at  all,  they  must  be  done  by  universal  consent  of  all  the  States 
or  partners  of  our  political  association;— and  this  universal  consent  I 
am  positive  can  never  be  obtained  to  such  a  pernicious  measure  as 
the  admission  of  Louisiana,— of  a  world,— and  such  a  world,— into  our 
Union.  This  would  be  absorbing  the  Northern  States  and  rendering 
them  as  insignificant  in  the  Union  as  they  ought  to  be,  if  by  their  own 
consent  the  new  measure  should  be  adopted. 

Senator  Plumer  of  New  Hampshire  also  said:— 

Admit  this  Western  world  into  the  Union,  and  you  destroy  at  once 
the  weight  and  importance  of  the  Eastern  States,  and  compel  them  to 
establish  a  separate  independent  Empire. 

These  declarations  indicate  that  local  interests  and  jeal- 
ousies measured,  in  a  great  degree,  the  patriotism  of  many  of 
the  statesmen  of  that  day. 

LETTERS    OP   JEFFERSON. 

We  frequently  hear  it  alleged  to-day  that  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son stood  upon  the  ground  which  is  taken  by  many  of  his  party 
at  this  time,  that  the  United  States  had  no  constitutional 
power  to  purchase  Louisiana,  Jefferson,  however,  held  that 
view  in  theory  only.  He  was  sufficiently  sagacious  to  see  that 
Louisiana  would  become  essential  to  the  United  States  in  its 
future  development,  and,  without  awaiting  the  action  of  Con- 
gress, he  made  the  purchase  regardless  of  the  constitutional 
inhibition  which  he  declared  existed.  It  was  a  sublime  act 
of  statesmanship; — a  master  stroke  for  which  he  is  and  ever 
will  be  more  renowned  than  as  the  author  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  He  acknowledged  that  he,  as  the  Executive, 
had  gone  beyond  the  letter  of  the  Constitution; — yet  he  used 
his  utmost  endeavor  to  have  the  treaty  ratified  promptly,  and 
the  purchase  money  provided  with  the  least  possible  discussion 


494  MINNESOTA  HISTOftlOSX,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

of  the  constitutionality  of  the  purchase,  which  he  regarded 
as  the  crowning  event  of  his  administration,  and  for  the  con- 
summation of  which  he  was  ready  to  proceed  to  any  extreme. 
On  August  30,  1803,  he  wrote  to  Levi  Lincoln: — 

The  less  that  is  said  about  any  constitutional  difficulty,  the  better; 
— mid  it  will  be  desirable  for  Congress  to  do  what  Is  necessary,  in 
silence. 

On  Sept.  7,  1803,  Jefferson  wrote  to  Wilson  C.  Nicholas :; — 

Whatever  Congress  shall  think  it  necessary  to  do  should  be  done 
with  as  little  debate  as  possible,  and  particularly  so  far  as  respect! 
the  constitutional  difficulty.  *  *  *  *  As  the  constitution  expressly  de- 
clares itself  to  be  made  for  the  United  States,  I  cannot  help  believing 
the  intention  was  not  to  permit  Congress  to  admit  into  the  Union  new 
States  to  be  formed  out  of  the  territory,  for  which,  and  under  whose 
authority  alone  they  were  then  acting.  *  *  *  *  I  had  rather  ask 
an  enlargement  of  power  from  tne  Nation  where  it  is  found  necessary, 
than  to  assume  it  by  a  construction  which  would  make  our  power 
boundless.  *  *  *  *  Let  us  go  on  then,  perfecting  it^  by  adding,  by 
way  of  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  those  powers  which  time  and 
trial  show  are  still  wanting.  *  *  *  *  I  think  it  important,  in  the 
present  case,  to  set  an  example  against  broad  construction,  by  ap- 
pealing for  new  power  to  the  people.  If,  however,  our  friends  shall 
think  differently,  certainly  I  shall  acquiesce  with  satisfaction;— confid- 
ing, that  the  good  sense  of  our  country  will  correct  the  evil  of  con- 
struction when  It  shall  produce  ita  ill  effects. 

On  August  12, 1803,  Jefferson  wrote  to  Mr.  Breckenridge:— 

This  treaty  must  of  course  be  laid  before  both  Houses.  *  *  *  * 
They,  I  presume,  will  see  their  duty  to  the  country  in  ratifying  and 
paying  for  it;  *  *  *  *  but  I  suppose  they  must  then  appeal  to  th© 
Nation  for  an  additional  article  to  the  Constitution,  approving  and  con- 
firming an  act  which  the  Nation  had  not  previously  authorized.  The 
Constitutioni  has  made  no  provision  for  our  holding  foreign  territory, 
sitUl  less  for  incorporating  foreign  nations  into  our  Union.  The  Ex- 
ecutive, in  seizing  the  fugitive  occurrence  which  so  much  advances  the 
good  of  his  country,  has  done  an  act  beyond  the  Constitution.  The 
Legislature,  in  casting  behind  them  metaphysical  subtleties,  and  risk- 
ing themselves  like  faithful  servants*  must  ratify  and  pay  for  it,  and 
throw  themselves  on  their  country  for  doing  for  them  unauthorized', 
what  we  know  they  would  have  done  for  themselves  had  they  been 
in  a  situation  to  do  it.  It  is  the  case  of  a  guardian  investing  the  money 
of  his  ward  in  purchasing  an  important  adjacent  territory,  and  saying 
to  him  when  of  age,  'I  did  this  for  your  good);  I  pretend  to  no  right 
to  bind  you;  you  may  disavow  me,  and  I  must  get  out  of  the  scrape 
as  I  can;  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  risk  myself  for  you/   But  we  shall 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  495 

not  be  disavowed  by  the  Nation,  and  their  act  of  indemnity  will  con- 
firm and  not  weaken  the  Constitution,  by  more  strongly  marking  ou* 
its  lines. 

Although  Jefferson  here  acknowledges  that  hie  had  gone 
beyond  the  letter  of  the  Constitution,  he  evidently  believed 
that  he  had  not  violated  the  spirit  of  Bepubliean  Government 
which  was  behind  that  instrument,  nor  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples upon  which  it  was  based; — and  he  was  willing  to  ac- 
cept as  its  proper  interpretation,  that  many  of  the  powers  of 
the  Government  under  it  are  implied; — and  that,  as  the  peo- 
ple made  the  Constitution,  they  could  also  amend  it  whenever 
it  became  necessary  to  do  so; — but  that  the  purchase  of  new 
territory,  not  being  in  violation  of  the  underlying  spirit  of  the 
Constitution,  could  be  made  without  any  amendment  to  it 

OPINION  OF  CHIEF  JUSTICE  MARSHALL. 

This  view  of  Jefferson  was  upheld  and  confirmed  twenty- 
five  years  later,  by  United  States  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall. 
In  the  case  of  the  American  Insurance  Company  vs.  David 
Canter,  reported  in  1st  Peters,  page  811,  Chief  Justice  Mar- 
shall, in  delivering  the  opinion  of  the  court,  in  January,  1828, 
said: — 

The  Constitution  confers  absolutely  on  the  Government  of  the 
Union,  the  powers  of  making  war  and  making  treaties;— consequently 
that  Government  possesses  the  power  of  acquiring  territory  either  by 
conquest  or  by  treaty.  The  usage  of  the  world  is,  if  a  nation  be  not 
entirely  subdued,  to  consider  the  holding  of  conquered  territory  as  a 
mere  military  occupation  until  its  fate  shall  be  determined  at  the 
treaty  of  peace.  If  it  be  ceded  by  the  treaty,  the  acquisition  is  con- 
firmed, and  the  ceded  territory  becomes  a  part  of  the  nation  to  which 
it  is  annexed;— either  on  the  terms  stipulated  in  the  treaty  of  cession,, 
or  on  such  as  its  new  master  shall  impose.  On  such  transfer  of  terri- 
tory it  has  never  been  held  that  the  relations  of  the  inhabitants  with 
each  other  undergo  any  change.  Their  relations  with  their  former 
sovereign  are  dissolved,  and  new  relations  are  created  between  them 
and  the  government  which  has  acquired  their  territory.  The  same  act 
which  transfers  their  country  transfers  the  allegiance  of  those  who  remain 
in  it;  and  the  law,  which  may  be  denominated  political,  is  necessarily 
changed. 

The  language  of  the  learned  Chief  Justice  clearly  estab- 
lishes the  right  of  one  nation  to  transfer  to  another,  any  terri- 
tory, and  the  allegiance  and  loyalty  of  its  inhabitants,  with 


496  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

out  their  consent.  It  is  also  evident,  from  an  examination  of 
that  portion  of  the  opinion  of  the  court  which  is  not  quoted 
above,  that  the  court  believed  that  the  Constitution  and  laws 
of  the  United  States  did  not  extend  by  their  own  force  over 
territory  so  acquired,  but  that  Congress  alone  could  determine 
all  questions  involved  in  their  government. 

Many  of  the  most  eminent  jurists  of  our  country  believe 
that  the  liberal  powers  which  Chief  Justice  Marshall  gave  to 
the  Constitution  during  the  thirty-four  years  that  he  inter- 
preted it,  were  necessary  to  its  durability,  and  that  a  strict  ad- 
herence to  its  letter  would  have  destroyed  it  Judge  Story 
said: — 

The  Constitution,  since  its  adoption,  owes  more  to  him  than  to  any 
other  single  mind  for  its  true  interpretation  and  vindication. 

No  amendment  of  the  Constitution  has  ever  been  deemed 
necessary  to  confirm  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  as  the  general 
power  of  the  government  to  acquire  territory  and  also  to  gov- 
ern any  territory  it  chooses  to-  acquire,  cannot  be  enlarged  or 
strengthened  by  any  such  amendment.  And  as  the  Nation 
did  not  disavow  the  President  of  the  United  States  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  nineteenth  century  in  acquiring  Louisiana,  so  it 
will  not  disavow  its  President  at  its  close,  in  acquiring  the 
Philippines. 

ANGLO-AMERICAN  ALLIANCE. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  radical  attitude  of  Jefferson  at 
this  time,  on  the  subject  of  forming  an  Anglo-American  alli- 
ance, and  the  length  to  which  he  was  willing  to  go  in  this  re- 
spect in  order  to  acquire  Louisiana. 

I  have  already  adverted  to  Jefferson's  letter  to  Monroe,  in 
which  he  wrote  that  if  Louisiana  could,  not  be  purchased  from 
Napoleon,  it  might  be  necessary  for  him  (Monroe)  to  cross  the 
Channel  into  England.  For  what  purpose  did  he  think  this 
might  become  necessary?  It  was  to  form  an  alliance  with 
England,  in  case  of  a  failure  of  the  negotiations  for  the  pur- 
chase of  Louisiana,  In  a  letter  to  Kobert  Livingston,  dated 
April  18,  1802,  he  boldly  declared  his  policy  in  case  of  the  re- 
fusal of  France  to  sell  Louisiana  to  the  United  States.  On 
that  day  he  wrote  to  Livingston: — 

The  cession  of  Louisiana    by  Spain  to    France,  works  most  sorely 
on  the  United  States.    *    *    *    *    It  completely  reverses  all  the  polit- 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  497 

ieal  relations  of  the  United  States.    *    *    *    *    There  is  on  the  globe 
one  single  spot,  the  possessor  of  which  is  our  natural  and  habitual 
enemy.    It  is  New  Orleans,  through  which  the  produce  of  three-eighths 
of  our  territory  must  pass  to  market    *    *    *    *    France,  placing  her- 
self in  that  door,  assumes  to  us  the  attitude  of  defiance.    Spain  might 
have  retained  it  quietly  for  years.    Her  pacific  disposition,  her  feeble 
state,  would  induce  her  to  increase  our  facilities  there,  so  that  her 
possession  of  the  place  would  hardly  be  felt  by  us,  and  it  would  not 
be  very  long  before  some  circumstance  might  arise  which  might  make 
the  cession  of  it  to  us  the  price  of  something  of  more  worth  to  her.    Not 
so  can  it  ever  be  in  the  hands  of  France.    The  impetuosity  of  her  tem- 
per, the  energy  and  restlessness  of  her  character,  placed  in  a,  point  of 
eternal  friction  with  us,  and  our  character,  which,  though  quiet  and 
loving  peace  and  the  pursuit  of  wealth,   is  high-minded,   despising 
wealth  in  competition  with  insult  or  injury,  enterprising  and  energetic 
as  any  nation  on  earth;— these  circumstances  render  it  impossible  that 
France  and  the  United  States  can  continue  long  friends,  when  they 
meet  in  so  irritable  a  position.    They,  as  well  as  we,  must  be  blind 
if  they  do  not  see  this;— and  we  must  be  very  improvident  if  we  do 
not  begin  to  make  arrangements  on  that  hypothesis1.    The  day  that 
France  takes  possession  of  New  Orleans,  fixes  the  sentence  which  is  to 
restrain  her    forever  within   her    low-water    mark.    It  seals  the  union 
of  two  nations,  who,  in  conjunction,  can    maintain    exclusive    possession 
of  the  ocean.    From  that  moment  we  must  marry  ourselves  to  the  Brit- 
ish fleet  and  Nation.    We  must  turn  all  our   attention   to   a  maritime 
force,  for  which  our  resources  place  us  on  very  high  ground;— and 
having  formed  and  connected  together  a  power  which  may  render  re- 
inforcement of  her  settlements  here  impossible  to  France,  make  the 
first  cannon  which  shall  be  fired  in  Europe  the  signal  for  the  tearing 
up   of   any   settlement  she   may   have   made,  and  for  holding  the  two 
continents  of  America  in  sequestration  for  the   common  purposes    of   the 
United  British  and  American  Nations.    *    *    *    *    In  that  case  France 
will  have  held  possession  of  New  Orleans*  during  the  interval  of  a 
peace,  long  or  short,  at  the  end  of  which  it  will  be  wrested  from  her. 

This  letter  to  Chancellor  Livingston  was  enclosed  by  Jef- 
ferson to  M.  Dupont  de  Nemours,  an  eminent  and  influential 
citizen  of  France,  whose  good  offices  in  behalf  of  our  govern- 
ment Jefferson  sought,  and  to  whom  he  wrote  on  April  25, 
1802:— 

You  may  be  able  to  impress  on  the  Government  of  France  the 
inevitable  consequences  of  their  taking  possession  of  Louisiana;— and 
though,  as  I  here  mention,  the  cession  of  New  Orleans  and  the  Floridas 
to  us  would  be  a  palliation,  yet  I  believe  it  would  be  no  more,  and  that 
this  measure  will  cost  France,  and  perhaps  not  very  long  hence,  a  war 
which  will  annihilate  her  on  the  oeean  and  place  that  element  under  the 
despotism  of  two  nations,  which  I  am  not  reconciled  to  the  more  be- 

32 


498  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

cause  my  own  would  be  one  of  them.    Add  to  this  the  exclusive  appro- 
priation of  both  continents  of  America  as  a  consequence. 

These  letters  reveal  the  length  to  which  Jefferson  was  will- 
ing to  carry  the  Nation  on  this  issue.  It  was  not  only  Louisi- 
ana, but  it  was  the  whole  of  North  America  and  South  Amer- 
ica that  he  proposed  to  hold  jointly  ^ith  England,  under  an 
alliance  which  would  sweep  France  from  the  ocean,  and  place 
it — "that  element,"  as  he  terms  it, — under  the  control  of  Amer- 
ica and  England.  The  wildest  imagination  cannot  carry  us 
farther  than  this.  All  our  present  purposes  of  expansion,  and 
all  suggestions  of  the  present  concerning  an  Anglo-Saxon  alli- 
ance, are  dwarfed  into  insignificance  when  compared  with  this 
proposal  of  Jefferson. 

Mr.  Breckenridge  did  not  share  in  the  fears  of  his  col- 
leagues, concerning  the  purchase  of  Louisiana.  In  the  stir- 
ring reply  which  he  made  to  them,  he  asks: — 

Is  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  restrained  by  water-courses?  Is  she 
governed  by  geographical  limits?  Is  her  dominion  on  this  continent 
confined  to  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi?  So  far  from  believing 
that  a  Republic  ought  to  be  confined  within  narrow  limits,  I  believe 
on  the  contrary  that  the  more  extensive  its  dominion,  the  more  safe 
and  durable  it  will  be.  In  proportion  to  the  number  of  hands  you  in- 
trust the  precious  blessings  of  a  free  government  to,  in  the  same  pro- 
portion do  you  multiply  the  chances  for  their  preservation. 

The  measure^  providing  the  means  for  the  purchase  of  the 
territory  finally  became  a  law,  and  the  United  States  thereby 
added  to  its  original  domain  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand (1,260,000)  square  miles,  including  Texas,  which,  in  1819, 
was  relinquished  to  Spain  in  exchange  for  the  Floridas,  and 
was  re-annexed  to  the  United  States  in  1845.  This  vast  acqui- 
sition wais  more  than  one- third  greater  than  the  whole  area  of 
the  United  States  and  their  territorial  possessions  at  the  time 
of  the  purchase, 

FEARS  OF  EASTERN  STATESMEN. 

The  fears  entertained  by  our  early  statesmen  are  all  forgot- 
ten. I  have  recalled  them,  not  to  illustrate  any  deficiency  in 
the  foresight  or  wisdom  of  the  men  of  that  day,  but  to  show 
how  remarkable  has  been  the  progress  of  improvement,  discov- 
ery, and  invention,  by  which  we  have  been  enabled,  during 
nearly  a  century  of  national  expansion,  to  incorporate  not  only 


THE  LOUISIANA,  PURCHASE.  499 

the  Louisiana  Purchase,  but  others  of  still  greater  aggregate  ex- 
tent, into  the  government  of  the  Republic,  without  endanger- 
ing its  safety,  and  without  any  amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion, or  any  material  modification  of  our  form  of  government, 
or  divergence  from  the  faith  or  policy  of  Thomas  Jefferson, 
and  others  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  all  of  these  vast  regions  were 
ceded  by  the  nations  possessing  them,  without  consulting  their 
subjects,  and  the  cession  accepted  by  the  United  States  with- 
out obtaining  or  even  asking  the  consent  of  the  inhabitants. 
As  was  said  by  Chief  Justice  Marshall  in  the  opinion  already 
referred  to,  "the  same  act  which  transfers  their  country,  trans- 
fers the  allegiance  of  those  who  remain  in  it."  The  power  to 
expand  is  inherent  and  limitless.  The  United  States  may  con- 
stitutionally take  whatever  territory  it  desires,  if  it  is  rightly 
acquired.  The  question  is  one  of  expediency  only,  not  of  power. 

It  is  said  that  the  best  and  most  enlightened  thought  of 
New  England  to-day  is  opposed  to  the  expansion  policy  of  our 
Government.  We  may  answer  that  the  most  enlightened 
thought  and  best  statesmanship  of  New  England  opposed  the 
purchase  of  Louisiana,  and  of  the  Floridas,  and  the  measures 
by  which  we  acquired  Oregon,  and  the  treaty  with  Mexico 
which  gave  us  California.  But  the  enlightening  experiences  of 
a  century  have  left  their  lessons,  and  there  is  to-day  neither  in 
New  England  nor  elsewhere  in  the  United  States,  any  promi- 
nent man  in  public  life  who  would  venture  to  question  the  wis- 
dom of  the  measures  by  which  these  acquisitions  were  made, 
and  which  have  so  benefited  and  enriched  the  Republic.  And, 
with  distance  annihilated  by  steam  and  electricity,  there  is  no 
reason  which  can  be  presented  why  the  work  of  civilization  and 
development  which  has  been  so  successfully  accomplished  by 
the  American  people  in  the  remote  regions  of  this  continent, 
may  not  be  as  effectively  done  on  any  soil  under  the  sun. 

The  doleful  predictions  of  a  century  ago,  like  those  we  are 
hearing  to-day,  when  our  I-and  is  teeming  with  the  spirit  of  ac- 
quisition, were  born  of  a  fear  and  timidity  which  are  inimical 
to  great  progress;  and  they  represent  a  mental  attitude  which 
is  not  fitted  to  grapple  with  new  problems. 

This  Nation  is  no  longer  an  infant,  but  a  giant.  The  sun 
never  sets  on  the  land  over  which  now   float  the   stars  and 


500  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

stripes,  and  we  hare  need  to  expand  our  ideas  of  our  destiny 
as  we  have  expanded  our  territory.  The  present  is  no  time 
for  faint-heartedness  in  the  councils  of  the  Republic. 

MODE   OF  DEFINING  WESTERN  BOUNDARY. 

The  western  boundary  of  the  vast  territory  ceded  to  the 
United  States  under  the  name  of  Louisiana  was  a  geographical 
problem,  incapable  of  any  other  than  a  forced  solution.  It 
was  claimed  that  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  concluded  in  1713, 
the  49th  parallel  of  latitude  had  been  adopted  and  definitively 
settled  as  the  dividing  line  between  the  French  possessions  of 
Western  Canada  and  Louisiana  on  the  south,  and  the  British 
territories  of  Hudson  Bay  on  the  north,  and  that  this 
boundary  extended  westward  to  the  Pacific.  So  unreliable 
was  the  evidence  in  support  of  this  claim,  that  it  was  finally 
determined,  in  the  settlement  of  the  western  boundary  of 
Louisiana,  to  adopt  such  lines  as  were  indicated  by  nature, 
namely,  the  crest  of  mountains  separating  the  waters  of 
the  Mississippi  from  those  flowing  into  the  Pacific.  This  left 
in  an  unsettled  condition  the  respective  claims  of  Spain,  Rus- 
sia, Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  to  the  vast  territory 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  extending  along  the  42nd  paral- 
lel of  latitude  west  to  the  Pacific  on  the  south,  thence  north 
up  the  coast  indefinitely,  thence  east  to  the  crest  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  thence  following  the  crest,  south,  to  the  place  of 
beginning.  Both  our  country  and  Great  Britain  recognized 
an  indefeasible  right  in  Spain  to  some  portion  of  this  country, 
but  our  relations  with  Spain  were  such  at  the  time,  that  this 
opinion  was  not  openly  promulgated.  The  territory  included 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  the  entire  region  drained  by  that 
river  and  its  tributaries,  and  an  extensive  region  still  further 
north  independent  of  this  great  river  system.  The  most  valu- 
able portion  of  it  at  this  early  period  in  our  history  was  that 
traversed  by  the  Columbia  and  its  tributaries. 

DISCOVERY  OF  THE  COLUMBIA  BY  CAPTAIN  GRAY. 

Great  Britain  had  no  right,  by  discovery  or  otherwise,  to 
any  portion  of  this  part  of  the  territory.  "The  opening,"  says 
Greenhow,  "through  which  its  waters  are  discharged  into  the 
ocean  was  first  seen  in  August,  1776,  by  the  Spanish  navigator 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  59^ 

Heceta,  and  was  distinguished  on  Spanish  charts  within  the 
thirteen  years  next  following,  as  the  mouth  of  the  River  San 
Roque.  It  was  examined  in  July,  1788,  by  Meares,  who  quitted 
It  with  the  conviction  that  no  river  existed  there.  This  opin- 
ion of  Meares  was  subscribed,  without  qualification,  by  Van- 
couver, after  he  had  minutely  examined  the  coast,  'under  the 
most  favorable  conditions  of  wind  and  weather,'  and  notwith- 
standing the  assurance  of  Gray  to  the  contrary."  The  actual 
discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  was  made  on  the  11th 
of  May,  1792,  by  Captain  Robert  Gray,  a  New  England  navi- 
gator, who  says  in  his  logbook  under  that  date:  "Beheld  our 
desired  port,  bearing  east-south-east,  distant  six  leagues.  At 
eight  a.  m.,  being  a  little  to  the  windward  of  the  entrance  of 
the  harbor,  bore  away,  and  ran  in  east-north-east  between  the 
breakers,  having  from  five  to  seven  fathoms  of  water.  When 
we  were  over  the  bar,  we  found  this  to  be  a  large  river  of  fresh 
water,  up  which  we  steered." 

Captain  Gray  remained  in  the  Columbia  from  the  11th  until 
the  20th  of  May,  during  which  time  he  sailed  up  the  river 
fifteen  miles,  gave  to  it  the  name  it  still  bears,  trafficked  with 
the  natives,  and  named  the  capes  at  the  entrance  and  other 
points  above. 

ATTITUDE  OF  JEFFERSON. 

The  United  States  had  this  claim  to  the  mouth  of  the  river 
and  the  interior  drained  by  it  and  its  tributaries  eleven  years 
before  the  Louisiana  Purchase  was  made.  President  Jefferson 
evidently  believed  that  Gray's  discovery  fully  established  our 
claim  to  all  that  region,  and  that  it  was  not  embraced  within 
the  limits  of  the  territory  ceded  by  Spain  to  France  in  1800 
by  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildephonso: — for  in  January,  1803,  while 
negotiations  with  Napoleon  were  in  progress,  and  three  months 
before  the  Louisiana  treaty  was  signed,  he  sent  a  confidential 
message  to  Congress,  which  resulted  in  an  appropriation  by 
that  body  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  for  an  exploration  of 
the  region.  No  public  documents  accessible  to  me  at  this  time 
throw  much  light  upon  this  secret  or  confidential  message, 
but  it  is  probable  that  the  hidden  purpose  contained  in  it  was 
privately  brought  to  the  notice  of  a  sufficient  number  of  the 
members  of  Congress  to  insure  the  small  appropriation  asked 


502  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

for  it.    In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Barton,  dated  Feb.  27, 1803,  Jefferson 
refers  to  these  "secret  proceedings1'  as  follows: 

You  know  we  have  been  many  years  wishing  to  have  the  Missouri 
explored,  and  whatever  river,  heading  with  that,  runs  into  the  Western 
ocean.  Congress,  in  some  secret  proceedings,  have  yielded  to  a  proposi- 
tion I  made  them  for  permitting  me  to  have  it  done.    *    *    * 

That  Jefferson  desired  to  enshroud  in  secrecy  the  real  pur- 
pose of  this  expedition,  and  conceal  it  from  the  knowledge  of 
Great  Britain  and  the  Northwest  Company,  is  evident  from  his 
suggestions  relative  to  the  title  of  the  bill  providing  for  the  ap- 
propriation, and  from  the  small  number  of  persons  he  desired 
to  enlist  in  the  enterprise,  as  well  as  from  other  mysterious 
and  covert  suggestions  contained  in  this  secret  message  to  Con- 
gress, from  which  I  here  quote.  After  outlining  a  project  for 
the  extension  of  the  public  commerce  among  the  Indian  tribes 
of  the  Missouri  and  the  western  ocean,  he  says : 

An  intelligent  officer,  with  ten  or  twelve  chosen  men,  fit  for  the  en- 
terprise and  willing  to  undertake  it,  taken  from  our  posts  where  they 
may  be  spared  without  inconvenience,  might  explore  the  whole  line, 
even  to  the  Western  Ocean,  have  conference  with  the  natives  on  the 
subject  of  commercial  intercourse,  *  *  *  and  return  with  the  in- 
formation acquired  in  the  course  of  two  summers.  *  *  *  Their  pay 
would  be  going  on  while  here  or  thereu  While  other  civilized  nations 
have  encountered  great  expense  to  enlarge  the  boundaries  of  knowledge 
by  undertaking  voyages  of  discovery  and  for  other  literary  purposes,  in 
various  parts  and  directions,  our  nation  seems  to  owe  to  the  same  object, 
as  well  as  to  its  own  interests,  to  explore  this  only  line  of  easy  com- 
munication across  the  continent,  and  so  directly  traversing  our  own  part 
of  it.  The  interests  of  commerce  place  the  principal  object  within  the 
constitutional  powers  and  care  of  Congress,  and  that  it  should  inci- 
dentally advance  the  geographical  knowledge  of  our  own  continent,  can 
aot  but  be  an  additional  gratification.  The  nation  claiming  the  terri- 
tory, regarding  this  as  a  literary  pursuit,  which  it  is  in  the  habit  of  per- 
mitting within  its  dominions,  would  not  be  disposed  to  view  it  with 
jealousy,  even  if  the  expiring  state  of  its  interests  there  did  not  render 
it  a  matter  of  indifference.  The  appropriation  of  $2,500  "for  the  purpose 
of  extending  the  external  commerce  of  the  United  States"  while  understood 
and  considered  by  the  Executive  as  giving  the  legislative  sanction, 
would  cover  the  undertaking  from  notice,  and  prevent  the  obstructions 
which  interested  individuals  might  otherwise  previously  prepare  in  its 
way. 

LEWIS  AND   CLARK  EXPEDITION. 

The  expedition  was  not  organized,  however,  before  the  pur- 
chase from  France  was   concluded.    After  that   was  agreed 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURQHASE.  593 

upon,  Captain  Meriwether  Lewis,  whose  grand-uncle  married  a 
sister  of  Washington,  and  who,  at  the  time  of  his  appoint- 
ment,  was  the  private  secretary  of  President  Jefferson,  andf 
Captain  William  Clark,  were,  at  the  instance  of  Jefferson,  ap- 
pointed to  explore  the  country  up  the  Missouri  to  its  source 
and  to  the  Pacific.  From  the  moment  of  their  appearance  on 
the  Missouri,  their  movements  were  watched  by  the  British, 
and  as  soon  as  the  object  of  their  expedition  was  discovered, 
the  Northwest  Company,  in  1805,  sent  out  its  men  to  establish 
posts  and  occupy  territories  on  the  Columbia,  The  British 
Company  proceeded  no  farther  than  the  Mandan  villages  on  the 
Missouri.  Another  party,  dispatched  on  the  same  errand  in 
1806,  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  near  the  passage  of  the 
Peace  river,  and  formed  a  small  trading  establishment  in  the 
54th  degree  of  north  latitude, — the  first  British  post  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  Neither  at  this  nor  at  any  subsequent 
time  until  1811  does  it  appear  that  any  of  the  waters  of  the 
Columbia  were  seen  by  persons  in  the  service  of  the  North- 
west Company. 

Lewis  and  Clark  arrived  at  the  Kooskooskee  river,  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Columbia,  in  latitude  46°  34',  early  in  October,  1805, 
and  on  the  7th  of  that  month  began  their  descent  in  five  canoes. 
They  entered  the  great  southern  tributary,  which  they  called 
Lewis,  and  proceeded  to  its  confluence,  giving  the  name  of 
Clark  to  the  northern  branch;  thence  they  sailed  down  the 
Columbia  to  its  mouth,  and  wintered  there  until  the  middle  of 
March,  1806.  They  then  returned,  exploring  the  streams 
which  emptied  into  the  Columbia  and  furnishing  an  accurate 
geographical  description  of  the  entire  country  through  which 
they  passed. 

ASTOR  EXPEDITION. 

Early  in  1811  the  men  sent  by  John  Jacob  Astor  to  the 
northwest  coast  in  the  interest  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company, 
erected  buildings  and  a  stockade,  with  a  view  to  permanent 
settlement,  on  a  point  of  land  ten  miles  above  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia,  which  they  called  Astoria.  With  the  exception 
of  one  or  two  trading  posts  on  some  of  the  small  streams  con- 
stituting the  head  waters  of  the  river,  the  country  had  not  at 
this  time  been  visited  by  the  English.  Further  detail  of  the 
history  and  trials  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  is  unnecessary 
in  this  place,  but  the  reader  who  desires  to  acquaint  himself 


504  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

with,  it  is  referred  to  Irving's  "Astoria"  for  one  of  the  most 
thrilling  narratives  in  American  history. 

In  1818,  after  Astoria  had  been  sold  by  the  Americans  to 
the  British  Fur  Company  and  the  stockade  occupied  by  British 
troops,  it  was  restored  to  the  United  States  under  a  provision 
of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  without  prejudice  to  any  of  the  claims 
that  either  the  United  States,  Great  Britain,  Spain  or  Russia 
might  have  to  the  ultimate  sovereignty  of  the  territory.  The 
claims  of  the  respective  nations  were  afterward  considered  by 
the  plenipotentiaries  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 
Messrs.  Bush  and  Gallatin,  who  represented  our  Government, 
proposed  that  the  dividing  line  between  the  territories  should 
be  drawn  from  the  northwestern  extremity  of  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods  north  or  south,  as  the  case  might  require,  to  the  49th 
parallel  of  latitude,  thence  west  to  the  Pacific.  The  British 
commissioners,  Messrs.  Goldburn  and  Robinson,  agreed  to  ad- 
mit the  line  as  far  west  as  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Our  repre- 
sentatives on  that  occasion  supported  the  claim  of  our  Gov- 
ernment by  citing  Gray's  discovery,  the  exploration  of  the  Co- 
lumbia from  source  to  mouth  by  Lewis  and  Olark,  and  the  first 
settlement  and  occupancy  of  the  country  by  the  Pacific  Fur 
Company.  The  British  commissioners  asserted  superior 
claims  by  virtue  of  former  voyages,  especially  those  of  Captain 
Cook,  and  refused  to  agree  to  any  boundary  which  did  not 
give  them  the  harbor  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  in  common 
with  the  United  States.  Finding  it  impossible  to  agree  upon 
a  boundary,  it  was  at  length  agreed  that  all  territories  and 
their  waters  claimed  by  either  power  west  of  the  Ropky 
Mountains  should  be  free  and  open  to  the  vessels,  citizens  and 
subjects  of  both  for  the  space  of  ten  years;  provided,  however, 
that  no  claim  of  either  or  of  any  other  nation  to  any  part  of 
those  territories  should  be  prejudiced  by  the  arrangement 

FLORIDA   TR13ATY. 

On  the  22nd  of  February,  1819,  Spain  ceded  Florida  to  the 
United  States,  and  by  the  treaty  it  was  agreed  that  a  line 
drawn  on  the  meridian  from  the  source  of  the  Arkansas  north- 
ward to  the  42nd  parallel  of  latitude,  and  thence  along  that 
parallel  westward  to  the  Pacific,  should  form  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  Spanish  possessions  and  the  southern  bound- 
ary of  those  of  the  United  States  in  that  quarter. 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  5Q5 

On  the  5th  of  April,  1824,  the  negotiations  between  the 
United  States  and  Russia  were  terminated  by  a  convention 
signed  at  St.  Petersburg,  which,  among  other  provisions,  con- 
tained one  to  the  effect  that  "neither  the  United  States  nor 
their  citizens  shall,  in  future,  form  an  establishment  on  those 
coasts  or  on  the  adjacent  islands  north  of  the  latitude  of  54° 
40',  and  the  Russians  shall  make  none  south  of  that  latitude." 

These  concessions  on  the  part  of  Spain  and  Russia  left  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  sole  claimants  for  the  entire 
territory  under  consideration,  the  claim  of  Great  Britain  hav- 
ing been  fortified  by  a  treaty  with  Russia  in.  1826,  in  which 
the  Russian  Government  agreed,  as  it  had  done  with  our  Gov- 
ernment the  previous  year,  that  the  line  of  54°  40'  should  be 
the  boundary  between  their  respective  possessions. 

The  period  of  ten  years'  joint  occupation  by  our  Govern- 
ment and  Great  Britain  agreed  upon  in  1818  was  now  ap- 
proaching a  termination.  A  new  negotiation  was  opened,  and 
after  submitting  and  rejecting  several  propositions  for  a  set- 
tlement, it  was  finally  agreed  between  the  two  Governments 
that  they  should  continue  in  the  joint  occupancy  of  the  terri- 
tory for  an  indefinite  period,  either  party  being  at  liberty  to 
demand  a  new  negotiation  on  giving  the  other  one  year's  no- 
tice of  its  intention. 

The  relations  thus  established  between  the  two  Govern- 
ments continued  without  interruption  until  the  attention  of 
Congress  was  called  to  the  subject  by  President  Tyler  in  his 
message  read  at  the  opening  of  the  session  of  1842.  The  sub- 
ject was  referred  to  the  committees  on  foreign  affairs  in  both 
houses  of  Congress,  and  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Senate 
for  the  occupation  and  settlement  of  the  territory,  and  extend- 
ing the  laws  of  the  United  States  over  it.  A  protracted  debate 
followed,  the  bill  passed  the  Senate  and  was  sent  to  the  House 
of  Representatives,  where  a  report  against  it  was  made  by 
Mr.  Adams,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  foreign  affairs,  and 
the  session  expired  without  any  debate  on  the  subject.  When 
the  report  of  the  debates  in  Congress  reached  England,  it  pro- 
duced some  excitement  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  in 
February,  1844,  the  Honorable  Richard  Packenham,  plenipo- 
tentiary from  Great  Britain,  arrived  in  Washington  with  full 
instructions  to  treat  definitively  on  all  disputed  points  relative 
to  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


506  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

In  August  following  the  British  minister  opened  the  nego- 
tiation by  a  proposition  which  would  have  given  Great  Britain 
two-thirds  of  the  entire  territory  of  Oregon,  including  the  free 
navigation  of  the  Columbia  and  the  harbors  on  the  Pacific. 
This  was  promptly  rejected,  and  no  further  attempt  at  adjust- 
ment was  made  until  the  following  year.  An  offer  was  then 
made  by  President  Polk,  which  being  rejected,  closed  the  door 
to  further  negotiation.  The  President  recommended  to  Con- 
gress that  the  agreement  for  joint  occupation  be  terminated. 

FINAL    SETTLEMENT    OF    BOUNDARY. 

A  very  animated  debate,  which  continued  until  near  the 
close  of  the  session,  sprang  up,  in  which  the  question  of  bound- 
ary lost  most  of  its  national  features  in  the  sharp  party  con- 
fiict  to  which  it  was  subjected.  The  Democrats,  generally 
adopting  the  recommendations  of  the  President,  advocated  the 
extreme  northern  boundary  of  54°  40',  and  were  ready,  if 
necessary,  to  declare  that  as  the  ultimatum!.  A  few  leaders 
among  them,  of  whom  Thomas  Benton  was,  perhaps,  the  most 
prominent,  united  with  the  Whigs  in  opposition  to  this  ex- 
treme demand,  and  the  line  was  finally  established  by  treaty 
on  the  49th  parallel. 

Hon.  James  G.  Blaine,  in  a  speech  delivered  at  Lewiston, 
Maine,  on  August  25,  1888,  said :    "The  claim  of  the  Democrats 
to  the  whole  of  what  now  constitutes  British  Columbia  up  to 
latitude  54°  40',  was  a  pretense  put  forth  during  the  presiden- 
tial canvass  of  1844  as  a  blind,  in  order  to  show  that  they  were 
as  zealous  to  secure  Northern  territory  as  they  were  bent  on 
acquiring  Southern  territory.     President  Polk  made  his  cam- 
paign on  this  claim.     The  next  thing  the  country  heard  was 
that  Mr.  Polk's  administration  was  compelled  to  surrender  the 
whole  territory  to  Great  Britain,  confessing  that  it  bad  made 
pretenses  which  it  was  unable  to  maintain  or  defend.    Had 
his  party  not  forced  the  question  to  a  settlement,  the  joint  occu- 
pation which  had  come  down  from  Jefferson  to  that  hour 
would  have  peacefully  continued,  and  with  our  acquisition  of 
California  two  years  afterwards  and  the  immediate  discovery 
of  gold,  the  thousands  of  American  citizens  who  swarmed  to 
the  Pacific  coast  would  have  occupied  British  Columbia,  and 
the  final  settlement  would  doubtless  have  been  in  favor  of 


THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE.  507 

those  who  were  in  actual  possession; — and  but  for  the  blun- 
dering diplomacy  of  the  Democratic  party,  which  prematurely 
and  without  any  reason  forced  the  issue,  we  should  to-day  see 
our  flag  floating  over  the  Pacific  front,  from  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia to  Behring's  Straits." 

This  mode  of  settlement  probably  averted  a  war  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  but  after  a  careful  sur- 
vey of  all  the  facts,  including  discoveries,  explorations  and  set- 
tlements, I  cannot  but  feel  that  the  concessions  were  all  made 
by  the  United  States,  whose  title  to  the  whole  of  the  territory 
was  much  more  strongly  fortified  than  that  of  Great  Britain 
to  any  portion  of  it. 

As  from  our  present  vantage  ground  we  look  back  a  half 
century  in  review  of  the  debates  and  discussions  in  Congress 
upon  this  boundary  question,  we  marvel  at  the  seeming  lack 
of  prescience  which  the  wisest  of  the  public  men  of  that  day 
displayed  in  estimating  the  value  of  these  possessions.  Even 
as  enlightened  and  sagacious  a  statesman  as  Daniel  Webster, 
in  his  famous  speech  delivered  on  the  floor  of  the  United 
States  Senate,  on  April  6,  1846,  while  defending  his  course  in 
advocating  the  treaty  of  Washington,  in  speaking  of  the  value 
of  the  privilege  granted  by  England  to  the  citizens  of  Aroos- 
took County,  in  the  State  of  Maine,  in  allowing  them  free  navi- 
gation of  the  Elver  St.  John,  to  the  ocean,  said: 

"We  have  heard  a  great  deal  lately  of  the  immense  value 
and  importance  of  the  Columbia  river  and  its  navigation; — but 
I  will  undertake  to  say  that  for  all  purposes  of  human  use, 
the  St.  John  is  worth  a  hundred  times  as  much  as  the  Colum- 
bia is,  or  ever  will  be." 

Standing  to-day  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  casting 
our  eyes  over  the  Louisiana  Purchase  and  our  later  acquisi- 
tions, upon  this  continent,  we  talk  of  the  West,— its  cities, — 
its  agriculture, — its  progress,  with  rapture; — a  land  where  but 
half  a  century  ago,  nearly  all  was  bare  creation ; — whose  val- 
leys, now  teeming  with  fruition,  had  then  never  cheered  the 
vision  of  civilized  man; — whose  rivers,  which  now  afford  the 
means  of  employment  to  thousands,  and  which  are  bordered  by 
myriads  of  happy  homes,  then  rolled  in  solitary  grandeur  to 
their  union  with  the  Missouri  and  the  Columbia; — to  all  this  we 


508  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

point  with  pride  as  the  latest  and  noblest  illustration  of  our  re- 
publican system  of  government.  But  beyond  this  West,  which 
we  so  much  admire  and  eulogize,  there  has  come  to  us  from  the 
islands  of  the  Pacific,  another  West,  where  the  real  work  of 
development  is  just  commencing; — a  land  whose  rugged  feat- 
ures, American  civilization  with  all  its  attendant  blessings 
will  soften; — insuring  respect  for  individual  rights  and  the 
practice  of  orderly  industry,  security  for  life  and  property, 
freedom  of  religion  and  the  equal  and  just  administration  of 
law; — and  where  man,  educated,  intellectual  man,  will  plant 
upon  foundations  as  firm  as  our  mountains,  all  the  institu- 
tions of  a  free,  enlightened  and  happy  people; — a  land  where 
all  the  advantages  and  resources  of  the  West  of  yesterday 
will  be  increased,  and  varied,  and  spread  out,  by  educational, 
industrial  and  social  development,  upon  a  scale  of  magnificence 
which  has  known  no  parallel,  and  which  will  fill  the  full  meas- 
ure of  Berkeley's  prophecy: — 

"Westward  the  course  of  Empire  takes  its  way. 

The  first  four  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day. 

Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last." 


SOME  LEGACIES  OF   THE  ORDINANCE  OF   1787.* 


BY  HON.  JAMES  OSCAR  PIERCE. 


It  is  not  the  aim  of  this  paper  to  explain  the  place  of  the 
Ordinance  of  1787  as  a  constitutional  document,  or  the  details 
of  the  movement  of  which  it  was  the  culmination.  The  general 
history  of  that  period  has  been  abundantly  written,  and  the 
evolution  of  the  Ordinance  has  been  elaborately  traced.  While 
the  present  age  has  recognized  this  as  one  of  the  great  constitu- 
tional acts  in  the  larger  history  of  our  country,  the  extent  of 
our  indebtedness  to  it  has  not  been  generally  observed.  We 
are  now  so  far  removed  from  that  epoch  that  we  can  distinguish 
some  of  the  legacies  which  that  Ordinance  has  left  for  the  wel- 
fare and  prosperity  of  the  present  generation,  and  for  which 
it  and  its  wise  promoters  deserve  our  gratitude. 

NATIONALITY. 

It  is  not  often  possible  to  mark  the  precise  time  when  a  peo- 
ple became  a  Nation,  or  the  final  step  which  made  it  such.  All 
students  recognize  historical  processes  as  gradual,  including 
those  by  which  great  governments  grow.  The  historian  sees 
a  people  at  a  certain  date  unformed,  with  no  institutions  defi- 
nitely or  permanently  established,  and  he  does  not  ascribe  to 
them  statehood.  At  a  later  period,  the  same  people  are  recog- 
nized as  a  fully  formed  nation.  In  the  intervening  time,  one  can 
note  only  a  general  progress  from  the  earlier  status  toward  the 
later,  without  being  able  to  assign  any  particular  date  as  that 
when  the  change  was  consummated.  There  is  a  period  in 
American  history  which  presents  difficulties  of  this  character. 

On  July  4th,  1776,  our  country  ceased  to  be  thirteen  British 
colonies,  and  she  never  reverted  to  that  status.     The  adoption 


*  Read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,  March  13,  1899. 


510  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  the  commencement  of  its  oper- 
ations in  1789,  exhibit  her  as  a  Nation.    It  is  not  easy  to  define* 
her  exact  political  status  at    any    time    during  the  interim. 
There  has  been  extended  discussion  upon  this  subject,  develop- 
ing many  and  persistent  differences  of  opinion.    It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  attempt  to  settle  these  disputes,  in  order  to  distinguish 
the  whole  revolutionary  and  confederate  period  as   one  of 
progress,  from  the  League  of  1774  to  the  Nation  of  1789.    There 
are  some  well-meaning  and  patriotic  persons,  who  argue  that 
it  was  not  until  the  results  of  the  Civil  War  had  removed  all 
doubts,  and  had  cemented  the  interests  of  the  two  previously 
discordant  sections,  that  full  nationality  resulted.    The  major- 
ity of  students  of  our  history,  however,  now  agree,  as  the  Sur 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  so  often  held,  that  the 
work  was  accomplished  when  the  Constitution  went  into  opera- 
tion in  1789.    If  we  do  not  concede  that  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence initiated  nationality,  as  many  constitutionalists 
claim,  it  is  easy  to  conceive  of  the  period  of  1776  to  1789  as  one 
of  transition,  during  which  the  people  were  considering  the  mer- 
its of  two  rival  plans  of  confederation,  and  were  gradually 
making  their  choice  between  a  League  and  a  Nation.      The 
Ordinance  of  1787  furnishes  evidence  that  the  choice  was  made, 
and  that  the  people  had  determined  upon  the  higher  and  more- 
vigorous  form  of  political  life. 

Many  of  the  intervening  steps  taken  by  the  people  indicated 
that  such  was  their  choice;  but  it  has  been  argued  that  these 
steps  were  not  necessarily  irrevocable  or  final.  The  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  itself,  professing  to  be  the  act  of  "one  peo- 
ple," seemed  to  imply  the  creation  of  a  nation  composed  of  thir- 
teen states;  and  it  has  often  been  urged  that  this  was  a  com- 
plete and  determinate  act,  and  that  we  were  thus  "born  United 
States."  So  the  Continental  Congress,  which  was  the  sole 
head  of  the  revolutionary  government,  raised  a  Continental 
Army  and  placed  a  general  at  its  head,  put  afloat  a  Continental 
Navy,  created  an  Appellate  Prize  Court,  sent  diplomats  abroad, 
negotiated  and  entered  into  treaties,  and  discharged  other  func- 
tions properly  pertaining  only  to  a  nation. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  urged  that  these  acts  do  not  indicate 
the  deliberate  choice  of  the  people  to  become  a  nation,  because- 
they  were  all  compulsory,  by  reason  of  the  war  then  existing. 
May  it  not  be  that  these  were  only  temporary  expedients,  asser- 


SOME  LEGACIES  OP  THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787.  5U 

tions  of  central  sovereignty  which  was  but  a  simulacrum,  and 
which  the  states  tolerated  onlj  under  the  pressure  of  a  foreign 
war?  The  scanty  grants  of  power  to  "the  United  States  in 
Congress  assembled,"  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and 
the  reservations  made  therein  to  the  states,  have  been  appealed 
to  as  indicating  that  the  people  were  not  ready  to  establish 
more  than  a  league.  It  is  true,  they  had  adopted  one  flag, 
under  which  the  army  drove  out  or  captured  the  invaders, 
under  which  the  navy  swept  the  seas;  but  may  this  not  have 
been  the  flag  of  a  league,  and  could  it  not  have  been  divided 
into  thirteen  flags,  with  one  star  in  each,  if  the  people  so  de- 
sired? What  they  chose  to  do  while  engaged  in  resisting 
Britain,  they  might  prefer  not  to  do  when  the  pressure  of  war 
was  removed,  and  peace  succeeded. 

If  we  concede  that  these  considerations  leave  it  doubtful 
whether  the  people  had  theretofore  chosen  to  become  a  nation, 
the  doubts  are  resolved  when  we  come  to  observe  the  Ordi- 
nance of  1787.  In  that  instrument  is  found  evidence  of  a  delib- 
erate choice  made  in  the  time  of  peace,  after  an  extended  dis- 
cussion commencing  in  the  time  of  war.  This  debate  was  pro- 
tracted for  ten  years,  and  was  at  times  exceedingly  heated. 
The  diverse  views  presented  were  ardently  advocated,  and  sev- 
eral plans  were  offered  for  governing  and  dividing  the  North- 
western Territory.  When,  with  all  this  consideration,  after 
the  pressure  of  foreign  war  had  been  removed,  an  ordinance  of 
a  distinctly  national  character  was  adopted,  this  may  well  be 
taken  as  the  final  determination  of  the  people.  By  this  instru- 
ment there  was  placed  upon  our  government  the  stamp  of  Na- 
tionality. This  was  before  the  Federal  Convention  at  Phila- 
delphia had  completed  its  draft  of  a  constitution.  It  was  fore- 
ordained that  the  work  of  that  body  should  be  the  constitution 
of  a  Nation. 

The  precedent  discussion  involved  the  determination  of  this 
precise  question,  Should  America  be  a  Nation  or  a  League? 
The  matter  under  dispute  had  been  the  proper  control  of  the 
unsettled  western  lands,  over  which,  as  a  result  of  the  war, 
Great  Britain  relinquished  authority.  Four  of  the  states  laid 
claim  to  some  of  these  lands;  and  Virginia,  whose  pretensions 
seemed  most  (plausible,  claimed  all,  and  proposed  to  settle  for 
herself  their  destiny.  Before  the  war  had  closed,  the  smaller 
colonies,  with  Maryland  in  the  lead,  were  resisting  the  Virginia 


512  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

theory,  and  claiming  that  the  western  lands  would  belong  to 
the  Union  of  States,  because  the  states  had  united  to  wrest 
them  from  Great  Britain.  Maryland  had  declined  to  ratify  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  unless  her  position  in  regard  to  the 
western  lands  was  adopted,  and  she  yielded  her  assent  to  those 
articles  only  when  assured  that  those  lands  would  be  ceded  to 
the  general  government.  It  is  true  that  Virginia  and  the  other 
colonies  voluntarily  ceded  their  claims  to  these  lands  to  the 
United  States.  But  it  is  clear  that  they  did  so  in  response  to 
that  demand,  and  for  the  sake  of  cementing  and  perfecting  the 
Union  of  the  States.  The  Act  of  cession  by  New  York  recited 
that  it  was  designed  "to  facilitate  the  completion  of  the  Arti- 
cles of  Confederation."  So  the  question  becomes  pertinent, 
Upon  what  legal  ground  was  the  claim  of  Maryland  based?  To 
what  theory  did  Virginia  and  New  York  and  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut  yield,  when  they  chose  to  cede  the  lands? 

Under  the  British  law,  the  colonies  were  crown  property. 
They  belonged  to  the  sovereign.  All  the  American  charters 
were  based  upon  this  principle.  Prom  the  time  of  James  I,  this 
had  been  conceded  as  a  canon  of  the  British  constitution.  It 
was  the  war  jointly  conducted,  and  the  victory  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, which  secured  these  western  lands  by  the  concession  in 
the  treaty  of  peace.  The  respective  colonial  charters  gave 
their  holders  title  only  to  such  lands  as  they  had  respectively 
occupied  with  their  settlements,  which  did  not  reach  beyond 
the  Ohio  river.  And  as  it  was  by  war  and  conquest,  carried 
on  by  a  united  people,  that  these  lands  had  been  acquired,  what 
power  had  thereby  succeeded  as  sovereign  to  the  rights  of 
King  George  III?  Manifestly,  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
that  power  which  had  conquered  the  territory  from  him. 

The  idea  that  these  lands  were  by  right  common  property 
anticipated  their  actual  conquest  by  many  years.  Immedi- 
ately following  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  before 
any  steps  toward  a  Union  had  been  taken,  the  Maryland  Con- 
stitutional Convention,  on  October  30th,  1776,  resolved  that  "if 
the  dominion  over  these  lands  should  be  established  by  the 
blood  and  treasure  of  the  United  States,  such  lands  ought  to 
be  considered  as  a  common  stock,  to  be  parcelled  out  at  proper 
times  into  convenient,  free  and  independent  governments." 
The  substance  of  this  proposition  was  offered  in  Congress  in 
October,  1777,  before  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  sub 


SOME  LEGACIES  OP  THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787.  51g 

mitted  for  ratification,  but  it  received  the  support  of  Maryland 
alone.  In  1778,  Maryland  instructed  her  delegates  not  to  ratify 
those  articles  until  this  question  should  be  settled  upon  the 
basis  that  the  lands,  "if  wrested  from  the  common  enemy  by 
the  blood  and  treasure  of  the  thirteen  states,  should  be  con- 
sidered as  a  common  property,  subject  to  be  parcelled  out  by 
Congress  into  free,  convenient,  and  independent  governments." 
These  instructions,  when  read  in  Congress  in  May,  1779, 
brought  protest  and  remonstrance  from  Virginia,  based  on 
her  claim  to  individual  sovereignty  over  these  lands. 

Delaware,  New  Jersey,  and  Ehode  Island  desired  to  have 
the  unoccupied  lands  sold  for  the  common  benefit,  not  claim- 
ing more  than  that  at  first.  In  connection  with  a  certain  con- 
templated treaty  with  the  Cayuga  Indians,  it  was  proposed,  in 
1779,  that  the  Six  Nations  should  cede  a  part  of  their  territory 
"for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States  in  general." 

The  controversy  of  Maryland  versus  Virginia  had  progressed 
so  far  in  1780  as  to  imperil  the  success  of  the  contemplated 
Union  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  so  that  it  was  pro- 
posed that  the  "landed"  states  should  cede  their  lands  to  the 
Union  in  order  to  save  the  Union.  In  October,  Congress  re- 
solved that  the  western  lands,  to  be  ceded  by  the  states,  should 
be  formed  into  distinct  republican  states,  which  should  be- 
come members  of  the  Federal  Union  on  equal  terms  with  the 
other  states.  New  York  had  already  offered  to  cede  her  claims 
in  order  "to  facilitate  the  completion  of  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration and  perpetual  Union."  In  1781,  Virginia  offered  to 
cede  her  claims,  on  certain  conditions,  one  being  the  division 
into  new  states;  and  Maryland,  having  substantially  won  her 
controversy,  ratified  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  not  relin- 
quishing "any  right  or  interest  she  hath,  with  the  other  United 
or  Confederated  states,  to  the  back  country."  In  1782,  Con- 
gress, on  the  motion  of  Maryland,  accepted  the  offer  of  New 
York,  and  in  1783  that  of  Virginia.  The  cession  of  Virginia 
was  executed  in  March,  1784;  that  of  Massachusetts,  in  April, 
1785;  and  that  of  Connecticut,  in  September,  1786. 

The  other  branch  of  the  controversy,  namely,  as  to  the  legal 
title  to  the  territory,  arose,  in  an  acrid  form,  in  1782.  In  the 
discussion  over  the  terms  of  the  proposed  treaty  of  peace  with 
Great  Britain,  as  to  the  title  to  the  lands  to  be  recovered,  the 
claim  of  the  United  States  as  successor  to  the  British  crown 
33 


514  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL,   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

was  advocated  by  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina  and  Witherspoon 
of  New  Jersey.  A  committee  of  Congress  submitted  to  it  two 
alternative  propositions,  one  that  the  individual  states  had  suc- 
ceeded to  the  rights  of  the  crown,  and  the  other,  that  these 
lands  "can  be  deemed  to  have  been  the  property  of  his  Britannic 
Majesty,  and  to  be  now  devolved  upon  the  United  States  col- 
lectively taken."  The  last  named  proposition  was  further  ex- 
pounded by  the  committee  as  follows:  "The  character  in 
which  the  king  was  seized  was  that  of  king  of  the  thirteen 
colonies  collectively  taken.  Being  stripped  of  this  character, 
its  rights  descended  to  the  United  States  for  the  following 
reasons:  1.  The  United  States  are  to  be  considered  in  many 
respects  as  an  undivided  independent  nation,  inheriting  those 
rights  which  the  King  of  Great  Britain  enjoyed  as  not  apper- 
taining to  any  particular  state,  while  he  was,  what  they  are 
now,  the  superintending  governor  of  the  whole.  2.  The  King 
of  Great  Britain  has  been  dethroned  as  king  of  the  United 
States  by  the  joint  efforts  of  the  whole.  3.  The  very  country 
in  question  hath  been  conquered  through  the  means  of  the 
common  labor  of  the  United  States."  The  Virginia  delegates 
protested  against  this  proposition,  asserting  the  individual  sov- 
ereignty of  their  state.  Witherspoon  argued  for  the  national 
view,  saying:  "The  several  states  are  known  to  the  powers  of 
Europe  only  as  one  nation,  under  the  style  and  title  of  the 
United  States;  this  nation  is  known  to  be  settled  along  the 
coasts  to  a  certain  extent."  To  minimize  this  controversy,  the 
report  was  recommitted. 

It  soon  arose  more  sharply,  when  the  petition  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  Kentucky  was  received,  on  August  27th,  1782,  asking 
that  they  be  admitted  on  their  own  application  as  a  separate 
and  independent  state,  on  the  grounds  that  they  were  "subjects 
of  the  United  States,  and  not  of  Virginia/'  and  that  as  a  result 
of  the  dissolution  of  the  charter  of  Virginia,  "the  country  had 
reverted  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  and  that  by  virtue  of 
the  Revolution  the  right  of  the  crown  devolved  on  the  United 
States."  Lee  and  Madison  of  Virginia  controverted,  while 
McKean  of  Delaware,  Howell  of  Rhode  Island,  and  Wither- 
spoon of  New  Jersey,  maintained  the  theory  of  the  succession 
of  the  United  States  to  the  rights  of  the  crown. 

In  1783,  in  connection  with  the  question  of  organizing  the 
Northwestern  Territory,  Carroll  of  Maryland  offered  in  Con- 


SOME  LEGACIES  OF  THE  OKDINANCE  OF  1787.  5^5 

gress  a  resolution  claiming  the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States 
over  that  territory,  "as  one  undivided  and  independent  nation, 
with  all  and  every  power  and  right  exercised  by  the  king  of 
Great  Britain  over  the  said  territory."  Congress  was  not  ready 
to  adopt  the  proposition  in  that  form.  Then  followed  the  ac- 
ceptance of  Virginia's  offer  of  cession,  provided  she  withdrew 
certain  objectionable  conditions,  and  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee to  report  a  plan  for  the  government  of  the  territory;  and, 
later,  the  deed  of  cession  by  Virginia,  Jefferson's  ordinance  of 
1784,  and  the  deeds  of  cession  by  Massachusetts  and  Connecti- 
cut, gradually  paving  the  way  for  the  authoritative  and  com- 
prehensive Ordinance  of  1787. 

It  was,  then,  the  argument  of  the  smaller  colonies  which 
prevailed,  and  to  which  the  larger  colonies  yielded.  The  fact 
of  a  deed  of  cession  by  Virginia  does  not  imply,  as  Professor 
Tucker  has  argued  in  his  Commentaries  on  the  Constitution, 
that  all  parties  acknowledged  the  sovereignty  of  Virginia,  be- 
cause the  deeds  of  cession  did  not  stand  alone.  They  were 
given  to  facilitate  the  Union  of  the  States,  and  to  enable  the 
general  government  to  exercise  her  sovereignty  over  the  west- 
ern territory.  What  was  in  fact  done  with  these  lands  by  the 
United  States,  with  the  assent  of  the  larger  colonies,  is  of 
greater  weight,  in  ascertaining  the  ultimate  purpose,  than  the 
verbal  protests  of  certain  dissatisfied  statesmen.  That  final 
action  was  the  assertion  of  full  sovereignty  by  the  United 
States,  and  the  exertion  of  that  sovereignty  in  establishing  gov- 
ernment. "Be  it  ordained,  by  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled,"  is  the  language  of  self-conscious  sovereignty. 

It  was  this  legal  proposition,  advanced  by  the  smaller  colo- 
nies as  their  ultimatum  in  the  western  land  controversy,  which 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  approved,  in  the  case 
of  Chisholm  v.  Georgia,  as  just  and  sound,  saying:  "From 
the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  the  sovereignty  of  their  [this] 
country  passed  to  the  people  of  it,  and  it  was  then  not  an  un- 
common opinion  that  the  unappropriated  lands,  which  belonged 
to  that  crown,  passed  not  to  the  people  of  the  colony  or  state 
within  whose  limits  they  were  situated,  but  to  the  whole  peo~ 
pie;  on  whatever  principles  this  opinion  rested,  it  did  not  give 
way  to  the  other." 

This  proposition  of  necessity  imputed  nationality  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  and  denied  the  existence  of  a 


510  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

league.  To  this  proposition  both  Virginia  and  New  York  as- 
sented when  they  ceded  their  western  lands.  By  her  action  in 
ceding  these  lands  and  participating  in  the  adoption  of  the 
Ordinance  of  1787,  Virginia,  no  less  than  New  York,  was  in 
good  faith  and  in  honor  estopped  from  ever  claiming  any  other 
position  than  that  of  a  Commonwealth  in  subordination  to  the 
Nation.  That  Ordinance,  legislating  authoritatively  for  the 
government  of  the  territory  so  acquired,  was  a  national  act.  It 
was  the  deliberate  act  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  as- 
suming to  themselves  the  power  of  a  nation.  Whether  Amer- 
ica should  be  a  nation  or  a  league,  became  then  a  closed  ques- 
tion. Thenceforward,  it  remained  only  to  establish  finally  the 
nationality  which  the  people  had  assumed,  by  the  framing  and 
adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

THE  DUAL  SYSTEM  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

The  American  system  of  federal  government  is  unique.  It 
is  a  happy  combination  of  a  strong  but  limited  central  govern- 
ment, for  all  general  and  external  purposes,  with  state  gov* 
ernments  which  control  all  local  matters  and  all  those  affairs 
which  most  concern  the  body  of  the  citizens  in  their  daily  lives. 
It  was  the  first  experiment  of  the  kind  on  a  large  scale,  and  it 
has  had  a  conspicuous  success.  The  novelty  consisted  in  bind- 
ing together  a  league  of  states  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  them 
a  supreme  central  government  which  should  act  directly  upon 
and  command  obedience  from  the  individuals  of  all  sections  of 
the  country.  Thus  every  citizen  is  subordinated  at  the  same 
time  to  two  governments,  and  has  a  dual  citizenship. 

The  American  plan  contemplates  additions  to  the  group  of 
states  by  admission  of  new  ones  on  equal  terms  with  the  first 
members.  It  involves  the  assertion  and  exercise,  by  the  people 
of  the  entire  nation,  of  their  inherent  sovereignty;  for  no  less  a 
power  would  be  competent  to  ordain,  by  authoritative  law,  the 
enlargement  of  the  galaxy  of  states  by  the  admission  of  new 
ones,  possessed  of  equal  rights  and  privileges,  and  bound  by 
equal  responsibilities  and  duties,  with  the  older  states.  The 
sovereign  people  thus  establish  the  central  government  which 
secures  respect  and  honor  for  the  flag  abroad,  and  authorize 
and  guarantee  the  state  governments  which  foster  and  protect 
all  the  domestic  privileges  and  rights  of  individuals.  The  peo- 
ple of  all  the  states  finally  adopted  this  plan  when  they  ratified 
the  Constitution. 


SOME  LEGACIES  OF  THE  ORDINANCE  OP  1787.  517 

The  plan  was  first  proposed  in  connection  with  the  Ordi- 
nance for  the  government  of  the  Northwestern  Territory. 
While  the  Revolutionary  War  was  still  in  progress,  and  be- 
fore it  was  settled  that  America  should  hold  that  territory,  it 
was  proposed  to  divide  it  up,  as  fast  as  sufficiently  populated, 
Into  new  states,  which  were  to  be  admitted  to  the  Union  on 
equal  terms  with  the  original  thirteen.  This  provision  the 
people  approved,  and  it  was  embodied  in  the  Ordinance,  and 
thus  became  the  American  plan.  Under  it,  three  states  were 
admitted  to  the  Union  before  the  time  came  for  Ohio,  a  part  of 
the  Northwestern  Territory,  to  apply.  This  form  of  federalism 
has  succeeded  far  beyond  any  possible  expectation  of  its  first 
proposers.  To  it  America  owes  her  great  constitutional  expan- 
sion, the  cementing  of  all  her  various  local  interests  and  feel- 
ings, her  unusual  strength  as  a  large  representative  republic, 
and  her  present  proud  position  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
The  Ordinance  in  question  (including  in  this  term  the  whole 
movement  for  establishing  government  in  the  Northwestern 
Territory)  was  the  first  evidence  that  this  had  been  adopted 
by  the  American  people  as  their  ideal  of  government. 

FREEDOM. 

The  war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union  purged  the 
nation  from  the  reproach,  and  its  flag  from  the  stain,  of  Afri- 
can slavery.  This  result  was  not  an  accident.  Its  causes  were 
early  implanted  in  our  national  life.  The  power  that  achieved 
this  great  work  was  the  strong  arms  of  freemen  who  were  bred 
in  the  life  of  freedom,  and  devoted  as  by  native  instinct  to  her 
service.  It  was  largely  through  the  consecration  of  the  North- 
western Territory  to  freedom  by  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  that 
the  ultimate  nationalizing  of  liberty  became  possible.  The 
dedication  of  that  vast  domain  as  the  home  of  a  race  of  free- 
men furnished  the  recruiting  ground  from  which  to  enlist  the 
legions  who  should  sustain  the  banner  of  freedom  against  fierce 
opposition.  If  slavery  was  entrenched  by  the  compromises  of 
the  constitution  so  as  to  necessitate  an  internecine  struggle  for 
its  final  overthrow,  so  was  freedom  by  the  Ordinance  of  1787 
so  thoroughly  entrenched  as  to  make  her  banner  and  her  army 
invincible  when  the  crisis  came. 

The  circumstance  that,  in  the  organisation  of  the  South- 
western Territory,  Congress  applied  to  it  all  the  provisions  of 
the  famous  Ordinance,  except  that  prohibiting  slavery,  only 


518  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

emphasizes  the  worth,  of  the  prohibition  as  to  the  Northwest- 
ern Territory.  No  one  will  now  dispute  the  superior  value  of 
the  Northwestern  over  the  Southwestern  plan  of  organizing 
territorial  government. 

The  labored  attempt  of  Chief  Justice  Taney,  in  the  Dred 
Scott  case,  to  decry  the  efficacy  of  the  Ordinance  as  a  charter  of 
freedom,  because  of  a  want  of  expressly  granted  power,  in  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  for  its  enactment  by  Congress,  has 
proved  futile.  That  decision  has  become  null,  because  it  ran 
counter  to  the  express  opinion  of  the  people.  The  Ordinance 
did  not  suffer  for  want  of  authority  as  a  charter  of  freedom, 
because  the  people  authorized  and  ratified  it;  and  the  well- 
nigh  unanimous  opinion  of  the  people,  since  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War,  concurs  with  and  enforces  that  original  opinion,  and 
justifies  the  far-seeing  wisdom  of  the  men  who  were  instru- 
mental in  dedicating  an  empire  to  freedom  by  an  authoritative 
law. 

RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY   AND    POPULAR   EDUCATION 

were  first  adopted,  as  national  ideals,  by  this  Ordinance.  They 
thus  became  a  part  of  the  birthright  of  the  people  of  the  states 
carved  out  of  the  Northwestern  Territory.  Though  these  prin- 
ciples were  already  adopted  as  fundamental  by  many  of  the 
states,  they  were  by  this  Ordinance  established  in  advance  as 
parts  of  the  foundations  of  other  states  whose  ultimate  great- 
ness was  foreseen.  Never  before  did  any  great  state  paper 
operate  to  develop  these  principles  on  so  large  a  scale. 

Most  natural  was  it,  that  the  adjacent  portions  of  the  Lou- 
isiana Purchase,  when  organized,  should  be  blessed  with  the 
same  precious  guarantees  of  education  and  free  thought,  by 
the  incorporation  of  like  provisions  into  the  Ordinances  en- 
acted for  their  government.  Thus  did  these  peculiarly  Amer- 
ican institutions,  the  free  church  and  free  school,  become  a 
part  of  our  national,  no  less  than  of  our  state,  life.  Broaden**! 
by  it  from  local  into  continental  operation,  they  are  not  the 
least  among  the  priceless  legacies  left  to  the  citizens  of  Amer- 
ica by  the  Ordinance  of  1787. 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OP  MINNESOTA.* 


BY  SAMUEL  M.  DAVIS. 


It  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  trace  the  origin  and  source 
of  the  territory  now  comprised  within  the  boundary  of  the  state 
of  Minnesota.  This  state  occupies  the  unique  position  of  being 
the  only  state  in  the  Union  which  acquired  its  territory  from 
the  two  largest  accessions  of  land  to  the  United  States  in  the 
early  history  of  this  government.  I  refer  to  the  cession  of  the 
Northwest  Territory  by  Great  Britain  in  1783  and  the  Louis- 
iana Purchase  in  1803.  About  twenty-nine  thousand  square 
miles  of  territory,  including  all  east  of  the  Mississippi  which  is 
now  comprised  within  the  boundary  of  the  state,  originated  in 
the  cession  by  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain  in  1783.  The  re- 
maining part,  about  fifty-five  thousand  square  miles,  was  se- 
cured from  the  territory  originally  purchased  from  France  in 
1803.  It  is  my  object  to  sketch  the  main  features  connecting 
these  two  great  treaties  of  accession  of  territory,  both  in  rela- 
tion to  the  boundary  of  the  territory  acquired  and  also  with 
reference  to  the  government  provided  for  them  after  the  terri- 
tory was  acquired. 

CESSION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 

The  Revolutionary  War,  which  began  April  19th,  1775,  was 
closed  by  three  separate  treaties  of  peace.  The  United  States 
and  France  conducted  simultaneous  negotiations  with  different 
English  Commissioners,  with  the  understanding  that  the  pre- 
liminaries should  be  signed  the  same  day.  Dr.  Franklin  wrote 
to  Vergennes  on  the  29th  of  November,  1782,  that  the  Amer- 
ican articles  were  already  agreed  upon  and  that  he  hoped  to 
lay  a  copy  of  them  before  his  Excellency  the  following  day. 

*Read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,  April  10,  1899. 


520  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

They  were  duly  communicated,  with  the  exception  of  a  single 
secret  article,  but  the  French  diplomat  was  astonished  and 
mortified  to  find  that  they  were  already  signed  and  therefore 
binding  so  far  as  the  commissioners  could  make  them  so.  The 
diplomatic  game  for  despoiling  the  young  republic  of  one  half 
of  her  territorial  heritage  was  effectually  defeated.  The 
French  diplomatist  reproved  Franklin  for  the  course  which 
he  and  his  associates  had  followed.  Franklin  replied  as  best 
he  could,  at  the  same  time  admitting  that  nothing  more  than  a 
slight  breach  of  politeness  had  been  committed.  The  American 
people  were  at  first  disposed  to  censure  the  commissioners,  but 
so  anxious  were  all  classes  for  peace  and  so  much  more  favor- 
able were  the  terms  obtained  than  had  been  expected,  that  the 
expressions  of  dissatisfaction  gave  way  to  expressions  of  grat- 
ification and  delight.  The  preamble  to  the  treaty  contained 
the  saving  clause  that  it  should  not  go  into  effect  until  France 
and  England  came  to  an  understanding,  which  fact  Franklin 
diplomatically  pressed  upon  the  attention  of  the  nettled  Ver- 
gennes.  The  final  treaty  of  peace  between  the  United  States 
and  England  was  signed  September  3rd,  1783.  By  this  treaty 
Great  Britain  acknowledged  the  United  States  to  be  free,  sov- 
ereign, and  independent  states,  and  relinquished  all  claims  to 
the  government,  proprietary  and  territorial  right  of  the  same 
and  every  part  thereof.  The  boundaries  assigned  proved  to  be 
more  satisfactory  than  those  which  had  been  proposed  in  Con- 
gress in  1779. 

It  is  not  possible  to  divide  among  Benjamin  Franklin,  John 
Adams,  and  John  Jay,  the  exact  honor  due  each  of  saving 
the  West  to  their  country.  To  the  man,  however,  who  goes 
through  the  original  documents,  it  would  seem*  that  we  are 
not  least  indebted  to  John  Jay  for  his  distinguished  services 
in  this  connection. 

Great  Britain's  claim  to  the  Northwest  Territory  was 
founded  both  on  conquest  and  on  the  charters  of  the  original 
colonies.  Great  Britain  claimed  not  only  all  the  land  in  the 
western  country  which  was  not  expressly  included  in  the 
charters  and  governments,  and  all  the  Mississippi,  but  also  all 
such  lands  within  them  as  remained  ungranted  by  the  king 
of  Great  Britain.  England  was  slow  to  surrender  so  much  of 
the  Northwest  as  remained  in  her  hands  at  the  close  of  the 
war.  Her  refusal  to  surrender  this  territory  was  positive 
proof  of  the  reluctance  with  which  she  consented  to  the  north- 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  521 

western  boundaries.  The  boundaries  negotiated  by  the  treaty 
were  much  discussed  and  every  proposition  with  reference  to 
a  different  boundary  had  been  considered.  Mr.  Adams  tells  us 
that  one  of  these  lines  was  the  forty-fifth  parallel  north  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  river,  and  the  other  the  line  of  the  middle  of  the 
lakes.  The  British  ministers,  owing  to  their  desire  to  give 
Canada  a  frontage  on  the  four  lakes,  preferred  the  water 
boundary  and  chose  the  line  which  left  the  Northwest  intact. 
Their  decision  was  most  fortunate  for  us.  If  the  forty-fifth 
parallel  had  become  the  boundary,  nearly  half  of  Lakes  Huron 
and  Michigan  and  of  the  states  of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin, 
and  a  part  of  Minnesota,  would  have  fallen  to  Great  Britain. 
The  boundaries  finally  decided  upon  were  the  middle  of  the 
chain  of  lakes  on  the  north,  and  the  Mississippi  river  on  the 
west. 

There  is  reason  to  think  that  England  did  not  believe 
the  young  republic  would  be  successful  in  maintaining  an  inde- 
pendent government,  and  her  tardy  transfer  of  the  Northwest 
Territory  to  the  United  States  was  caused  by  a  determination 
to  share  in  the  expected  spoil  that  would  result  from  the 
failure  of  our  early  government.  The  fact  is  that  neither 
England  nor  Spain  looked  upon  the  treaty  at  Paris  as  finally 
settling  the  destiny  of  the  country  west  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains.  The  war  of  1812  no  doubt  revived  England's  hopes 
of  again'  recovering  the  Northwest;  and  the  efforts  of  Tecumseh 
to  stay  the  oncoming  tide  of  white  population,  and  Hull's 
surrender  of  the  Michigan  territory,  fanned  these  hopes  into 
a  bright  flame.  Harrison's  success  on  the  Maumee,  and 
Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  finally  dashed  her  hopes  to  the 
ground.  Only  three  of  the  thirty-two  years  between  1783  and 
1815  were  years  of  open  war,  yet  for  one  half  of  the  whole 
time  the  British  flag  was  flying  on  the  American  side  of  the 
boundary  line.  The  final  destiny  of  the  Northwest  was  not 
assured  in  its  fullest  sense  until  the  treaty  of  Ghent. 

The  question  of  boundaries  was,  by  the  treaty  of  Paris, 
settled  upon  paper;  but  the  actual  boundaries  were,  for  a 
considerable  length  of  time,  undetermined.  It  was  not  a  fore- 
gone conclusion  that  the  West  should  be  delivered-  to  the 
United  States.  The  retention  of  the  Northwest  by  Great 
Britain  would  have  been  a  serious  mischance  in  case  subsequent 
events  had  turned  out  differently.  The  longer  one  considers 
the  question,  the  more  will  he  discover  reasons  for  congratu- 


522  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

lation  that  the  logic  of  events  gave  us  our  proper  boundaries 
at  the  close  of  the  War  of  Independence,*  and  that  we  were 
not  left  to  renew  the  struggle  upon  that  question  in  after 
years  with  other  European  nations.  The  boundaries  as  deter- 
mined by  the  diplomats  at  Paris,  were,  no  doubt,  fixed  in  good 
faith;  but  they  had  not  only  to  be  drawn  upon  paper,  but  also 
traced  through  vast  wildernesses,  uninhabited  and  unex- 
plored. It  was  natural  therefore  that  some  of  the  lines  were 
found  impracticable.  Some  of  the  disputes  that  arose  after- 
ward had,  however,  other  sources  than  ignorance  of  geography. 
A  serious  doubt  arose  as  to  the  practicability  of  reaching  the 
Mississippi  by  a  due  west  line  from  the  northwest  point  of 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods.f  Jay's  treaty,  in  1794,  therefore  pro- 
vided that  measures  should  be  taken  in  concert  to  survey  the 
upper  Mississippi,  and,  in  case  the  due  west  line  was  found 
impracticable,  it  was  further  provided  that  "the  two  parties 

♦Article  2  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  reads  thus:  "And  that  all  disputes  which 
migrht  arise  in  future  on.  the  subject  of  the  boundaries  of  the  said  United 
States  may  be  prevented,  it  is  hereby  agreed  and  declared  that  the  following 
are  and  shall  be  their  boundaries,  namely:  Froim  the  northwest  angle  of 
Nova  Scotia,  namely,  that  angle  which  is  formed  by  a  line  drawn  due  north 
from  the  source  of  St,  Croix  River  to  the  Highlands;  along  the  said  High- 
lands, which  divide  those  rivers  that  empty  themselves  into  the  River  St. 
Lawrence  from  those  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  to  the  northwest- 
ernmost  head  of  Connecticut  River;  thence  down  along  the  middle  of  that 
river  to  the  forty-fifth  degree  of  north  latitude;  from  thence  by  a  line  due 
west  on  said  latitude,  until  it  strikes  the  River  Iroquois  or  Cataraquy  [that 
is,  the  St.  Lawrence];  thence  along  the  middle  of  said  river  into  Lake  On- 
tario, through  the  middle  of  said  lake  until  it  strikes  the  communication  by 
water  between  that  lake  and  Lake  Erie;  thence  along  the  middle  of  said 
communication  into  Lake  Erie,  through  the  middle  of  said  lake  until  it  ar- 
rives at  the  water  communication  between  that  lake  and  Lake  Huron; 
thence  along  the  middle  of  said  water  communication  into  the  Lake  Huron; 
thence  through  the  middle  of  said  lake  to  the  water  communication  between 
that  lake  and  Lake  Superior;  thence  through  Lake  Superior  northward  of 
the  Isles  Royal  and  Phelipeaux,  to  the  Long  Lake;  thence  through  the  mid- 
dle of  said  Long  Lake,  and  the  water  communication  between  it  and  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  to  the  said  Lake  of  the  Woods;  thence  through  the 
said  lake  to  the  most  northwestern  point  thereof,  and  from,  thence  on  a  "due 
west  course  to  the  River  Mississippi;  thence  by  a  line  to  be  drawn  along  the 
middle  of  the  said  River  Mississippi  until  it  shall  intersect  the  northernmost 
part  of  the  thirty-first  degree  of  north  latitude.  South,  by  a  line  to  be  drawn 
due  east  from  the  determination  of  the  line  last  mentioned,  in  the  latitude 
of  thirty-one  degrees  north  of  the  equator,  to  the  middle  of  the  River  Apa- 
lachicola  or  Catahouche;  thence  along  the  middle  thereof  to  its  junction 
with  the  Flint  River;  thence  straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  River;  and 
thence  down  along  the  middle  of  St.  Mary's  River  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
East,  by  a  line  to  be  drawn  along  the  middle  of  the  River  St.  Croix,  from  its 
mouth  in  the  Bay  of  Pundy  to  its  source,  and  from  its  source  directly  north 
to  the  aforesaid  Highlands,  which  divide  the  rivers  that  fall  into  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  from  those  which  fall  into  the  River  St.  Lawrence;  comprehending 
all  islands  within  twenty  leagues  of  any  part  of  the  shores  of  the  United 
States,  and  lying  between  lines  to  be  drawn  due  east  from  the  points  where 
the  aforesaid  boundaries  between  Nova  Scotia,  on  the  one  part,  and  East 
Florida,  on  the  other,  shall  respectively  touch  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  the 
Atlantic  Ocean;  excepting  such  islands  as  now  are,  or  heretofore  have  been, 
within  the  limits  of  the  said  province  of  Nova  Scotia." 

tThe  maps  of  the  period  put  down  the  course  of  the  river  above  the  for- 
ty-fifth parallel  as  "the  Mississippi  by  conjecture." 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  523 

will  thereupon  proceed,  by  amicable  negotiation,  to  regulate 
the  boundary  line  in  that  quarter.*'  This  boundary  was  not 
fixed  till  more  than  twrenty  years  later. 

A  convention  was  signed  in  London  by  the  representatives 
of  the  two  powers  on  May  12th,  1803,  which  contained  arrange- 
ments for  determining  the  boundary  from  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods  to  the  Mississippi.  At  about  the  same  time  the  treaty 
for  the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States  wTas  signed. 
When  the  London  treaty  came  before  the  Senate  the  argument 
was  made  that  the  Louisiana  Purchase  would  affect  the  line 
from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Mississippi.  Accordingly 
the  Senate  struck  out  the  article,  and  this  caused  the  whole 
treaty  to  fall  through.  By  the  Louisiana  Purchase  we  suc- 
ceeded to  all  rights,  as  respects  Louisiana,  that  had  belonged 
to  Spain  or  France,  and  this  carried  us  north  to  the  British 
possessions  and  west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  On  October  20th, 
1818,  the  United  States  and  England  agreed  to  a  convention 
which  settled  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  controversy  and  estab- 
lished the  boundary  between  the  two  countries  as  far  as  the 
Rocky  mountains.* 

The  remaining  boundary,  from  the  intersection  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  forty-fifth  parallel  north  to  the  foot  of  the 
St.  Mary's  river,  was  established  in  1823,  by  a  joint  commission 
under  the  treaty  of  Ghent;  and  from  the  foot  of  the  St.  Mary's 
to  the  most  northwestern  point  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  by 
the  Webster-Ashburton  treaty  in  1842. 

The  western  boundary  of  the  Northwest  Territory  was  the 
Mississippi  river  to  its  source.  All  that  part  of  Minnesota  east  of 
the  Mississippi  river  was  taken  from  the  original  Northwest 
Territory.  From  the  source  of  the  Mississippi  river  in  Lake 
Itasca  the  line  was  drawn  due  north  by  95  degrees  and  12 
minutes  west  longitude  from  Greenwich  to  a  point  known  as 
the  northwestern  point  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.     This  line 

*"It  is  agreed  that  a  line  drawn  from  the  most  northwestern  point  of  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  along  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  or, 
if  the  said  point  shall  not  be  in  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude, 
then  that  a  line  drawn  from  the  said  point  due  north  or  south,  as  the  case 
may  be,  until  the  said  line  shall  intersect  the  said  parallel  of  north  latitude, 
and  from  the  point  of  such  intersection  due  west  along  and  with  the  said 
parallel,  shall  be  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  territories  of  the 
United  States  and  those  of  his  Britannic  Majesty,  and  that  the  said  line 
shall  form  the  northern  boundary  of  the  said  territories  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  southern  boundary  of  the  territories  of  his  Britannic  Majesty,  from 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Stony  Mountains." 

This  provision  as  to  the  boundary,  together  with  the  facts  of  geography, 
explains  the  singular  projection  of  our  northern  boundary  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods. 


524  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

passes  through  the  western  part  of  the  southern  half  of  Bed 
LaKe.  The  territory  now  included  in  Minnesota  east  of  this 
line,  and  east  of  the  Mississippi  river,  comprises  about  one 
third  of  the  state.  The  balance  of  the  present  state  of  Min- 
nesota was  derived  from  the  Louisiana  Purchase. 

THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 

In  the  early  days  the  eastern  portion  of  Minnesota  territory 
came  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  The 
vital  point  in  the  history  of  the  entire  Northwest  was  the 
passage  of  this  ordinance  by  Congress.  The  first  question 
that  had  to  be  decided  was  in  regard  to  the  ownership  of  the 
territory  ceded  by  Great  Britain.  This  decision  was  made  in 
Congress  by  an  agreement  of  the  representatives  of  the  differ- 
ent states.  Seven  states,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Virginia,, 
Georgia,  New  York,  and  both  the  Carolinas,  claimed  portions 
of  this  territory.  The  claim  of  New  York  was  based  upon  the 
ground  that  she  was  the  heir  of  the  Iroquois  Indians.  The 
other  six  states  based  their  claims  on  various  charters.  None 
of  these  claims  were  substantial  or  founded  on  very  tenable 
ground. 

The  first  plan  for  a  solution  of  the  problem  of  sovereignty 
over  the  western  lands  was  brought  forward  by  Maryland  on 
October  15th,  1777.  This  was  proposed  as  an  article  of  amend- 
ment to  the  articles  of  confederation  then  under  discussion. 
That  amendment  read  as  follows:  "That  the  United  States,  in 
Congress  assembled,  shall  have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right 
and  power  to  ascertain  and  fix  the  western  boundary  of  such 
states  as  claim  to  the  Mississippi  or  South  Sea,  and  lay  out 
the  land  beyond  the  boundary,  so  ascertained,  into  separate 
and  independent  states,  from  time  to  time,  as  the  numbers  and 
circumstances  of  the  people  thereof  may  require.7'  The  amend- 
ment failed,  and  one  of  an  exactly  opposite  character  was 
passed,  which  put  a  prohibition  on  the  United  States  govern- 
ment so  that  it  should  not  deprive  any  state  of  any  territory. 
The  principle  contained  in  the  Maryland  amendment,  however, 
was  a  germinant  idea  which  afterwards  came  to  a  fuller  real- 
ization in  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  The  Maryland  proviso  con- 
tained two  propositions,  an  end  to  be  reached,  and  a  means  of 
reaching  it.  Maryland  was  one  of  the  states  that  did  not  have 
any  claim  to  territory  outside  of  her  own  limits.  There  were 
at  that  time  two  classes  of  states,  known  as  the  landed  states 
and  the  states  without  any  claim.    Maryland  was  the  pioneer 


THE  DUAL,  ORIGIN  OP  MINNESOTA.  525 

in  bringing  about  a  solution  of  the  question  for  nationalizing 
tlie  western  land.     She  showed  great  hesitation  in  joining  the 
confederation  as  long  as  the  question  was  unsettled,  and  in- 
sisted that  the  titles  of  the  claimant  states  were  invalid,  that 
there  was  no  need  of  asking  them  to  cede  what  they  did  not 
possess,  and  that  the  West  should  be  declared  outright  a  part 
of  the  Federal  domain.      The  claimant  states  subsequently 
ceded  their  claims,  Connecticut  being  the  last,  in  1786,  to  cede 
all  her  rights.     The  non-claimant  states  thus  obtained  their 
object,  and  the  lands  included  in  the  Northwest  Territory  be- 
came part  of  the  Federal  domain  and  were  nationalized  so  far 
as  they  could  be  under  the  Confederation.     It  was  not  until 
the  Constitution  was  adopted  that  there  was  a  national  treas- 
ury into  which  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  lands  could  be 
turned. 

It  remained  for  Congress,  under  the  conditions  of  the  Or- 
dinance of  1787,  to  determine  the  terms  on  which  settlers  could 
enter  the  new  lands  and  on  which  new  states  should  spring  up 
therein.  This  ordinance  was  one  of  the  most  important  acts 
ever  passed  by  an  American  legislative  body,  for  it  determined 
with  great  wisdom  and  statesmanship  that  the  new  North- 
western states  should  be  free  from  the  taint  and  curse  of  negro 
slavery,  and  that  education  should  receive  just  and  due  atten- 
tion, asserting  thus  a  principle  which  later  has  found  expres- 
sion in  its  being  aided  by  the  grant  of  a  part  of  the  public 
lands. 

The  important  features  of  the  Ordinance  were  contained  in 
the  six  articles  of  compact  between  the  confederated  states 
and  the  people  and  states  of  the  territory,  and  were  to  be  for- 
ever unchanged  except  by  consent  of  both  parties.*  It  is  difficult 

*  Article  I  declares,  "No  person  demeaning-  himself  in  a  peaceable  and 
orderly  manner  shall  ever  be  molested  on  account  of  his  mode  of  worship 
or  religious  sentiments  in  the  said  territory." 

Article  II  guarantees  to  the  inhabitants  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  trial 
by  jury,  proportional  representation  in  the  legislature,  and  the  privileges  of 
the  common  law.  The  article  concludes  with  the  declaration  that  "no  law 
ought  ever  to  be  made,  or  have  force  in  the  said  territory,  that  shall,  in  any 
manner  whatever,  interfere  with  or  affect  private  contracts  or  engagements 
bona  fide  and  without  fraud,  previously  formed."  A  few  weeks  later  this 
provision  was  copied  into  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  but  this  is 
its  first  appearance  in  a  charter  of  government.  It  was  an  outgrowth  of  the 
troublous  commercial  condition  of  the  country.  Lee,  who  originally  brought 
it  forth,  intended  it  as  a  stroke  at  paper  money. 

Article  III  contains  these  words,  which  should  be  emblazoned  on  the 
*escutcheon  of  every  American  State:  "Beligion,  morality,  and  knowledge, 
being  necessary  to  good  government  and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools 
and  the  means  of  education  shall  forever  be  encouraged."  It  also  says  that 
good  faith  shall  be  observed  toward  the  Indians. 

Article  IV  ordained  that  "the  said  Territory,  and  the  States  which  may 
foe  formed  therein,  shall  forever  remain  a  part  of  this  Confederacy  of  the 


526  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

to  determine  which  of  the  provisions  of  the  Ordinance  were 
most  important,  but  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  one  providing 
against  the  introduction  of  slavery  was  the  greatest  blow  struck 
for  freedom  and  against  slavery  in  all  our  history,  save  only  Lin- 
coln's Emancipation  Proclamation.  This  provision  determined 
that  in  the  final  struggle  the  mighty  and  lusty  young  West 
should  side  with  the  right  against  the  wrong.  The  fact  is  that 
the  Ordinance  of  1787  was  so  wide-reaching  in  its  effects,  was 
drawn  in  accordance  with  so  high  and  lofty  a  morality  and 
such  far-seeing  statesmanship,  and  was  potent  with  such  weal 
for  the  nation,  that  it  will  ever  rank  among  the  foremost  of 
American  state  papers.  "It  marked  out  a  definite  line  of  or- 
derly freedom  along  which  the  new  States  were  to  advance. 
It  laid  deep  the  foundation  for  that  system  of  widespread 
public  education  so  characteristic  of  the  Republic  and  so  es- 
sential to  its  healthy  growth.  It  provided  that  complete  re- 
ligious freedom  and  equality  which  we  now  accept  as  part 
of  the  order  of  nature,  but  which  were  then  unknown  in  any 
important  European  nation.  It  guaranteed  the  civil  liberty  of 
all  citizens.  It  provided  for  an  indissoluble  Union,  a  Union 
which  should  grow  until  it  could  relentlessly  crush  nullifica- 
tion and  secession;  for  the  States  founded  under  it  were  the 
creatures  of  the  Nation,  and  were  by  the  compact  declared 
forever  inseparable  from  it."* 

The  Ordinance  of  1787  provided  that  not  less  than  three  and 
not  more  than  five  states  should  be  carved  out  of  the  territory 


United  States  of  America,  subject  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  to 
such  alterations  therein"  as  might  be  made,  and  to  the  laws  enacted  by  Con- 
gress. After  some  provisions  in  regard  to  taxation,  it  concludes  as  follows: 
"The  navigable  waters  leading  into  the  Mississippi  and  St.  Lawrence,  and 
the  carrying-places  between  ithe  same,  shall  be  common  highways  and  for- 
ever free,  as  well  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  Territory  as  to  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  and  'those  of  any  other  States  that  may  be  admitted 
in'to  the  Confederacy,  without  any  tax,  impost  or  duty  therefor." 

Article  V  provided  for  the  division  of  'the  Territory  into  States,  not  less 
than  three  nor  more  than  five,  and  drew  their  boundary  lines,  subject  to 
changes  that  Congress  might  afterwards  make.  A  population  of  60,000  free 
inhabitants  should  entitle  any  one  of  these  states  to  admission,  not  "into  the 
Union,"  a  phrase  that  came  in  with  the  Constitution,  but  "by  its  delegates 
into  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original 
states  in  all  respects  whatever,"  and  to  "form  a  permanent  constitution  and 
State  government,"  with  the  proviso  that  "the  constitution  so  to  be  formed 
shall  be  republican,  and  in  conformity  to  the  principles  contained  in  these 

£LT,1"i<"*l P1^  " 

Article  VI  dedicated  the  Northwest  to  freedom  forever.  "There  shall 
be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in  the  said  Territory,  other- 
wise than  in  punishment  of  crimes  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly 
convicted."  But  this  prohibition  was  coupled  with  a  proviso  that  stamps 
the  whole  article  as  a  compromise:  "Provided,  always,  that  any  person 
escaping  into  the  same,  from  whom  labor  or  service  is  lawfully  claimed  in 
any  one  of  the  original  States,  such  fugitive  may  be  lawfully  reclaimed  and 
conveyed  to  the  person  claiming  his  or  her  labor  or  service  as  aforesaid." 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  The  Winning  of  the  West,  vol.  iii,  p.  259. 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  527 

thus  acquired.  It  will  be  interesting  for  us  to  note,  in  a  later 
part ,  of  this  paper,  the  circumstances  and  conditions  which 
caused  a  part  of  this  territory  to  be  included  in  Minnesota 
after  five  states  had  already  been  admitted. 

THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE. 

The  interest  that  attaches  to  the  Louisiana  Purchase  is 
romantic  as  well  as  historic.  The  vast  territory  acquired  by 
the  United  States  in  its  early  history  laid  the  foundation  for 
the  subsequent  greatness  of  the  republic.  The  soil  contained 
within  this  area  had  belonged  successively  by  discovery  and 
conquest  to  several  of  the  powerful  and  aggressive  nations  of 
Europe.  Zealous  and  pious  missionaries  traversed  its  length 
and  breadth  in  the  service  of  their  earthly  Mngs,  and  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  aboriginal  nations  inhabiting  its  wide 
extended  plains.  Daring  and  adventurous  explorers  and  dis- 
coverers ploughed  its  rivers  with  their  canoes  and  laid  open 
the  vastness  of  its  extent,  and  the  magnificent  resources  and 
treasures  of  its  wealth,  like  an  open  book.  At  length  it  was 
returned  to  the  dominion  of  France.  Napoleon  was  directing 
the  affairs  of  the  French  nation,  and  was  in  need  of  funds  to 
equip  her  armies  for  conquest.  The  United  States  stood  ready 
to  purchase  Louisiana.  Events  were  hurrying  Napoleon  to  a 
conclusion. 

On  April  10th,  1803,  Napoleon  called  to  him  two  of  his 
counsellors,  Marbois  and  Decres,  and  addressed  them  in  re- 
gard to  the  cession  of  Louisiana  in  that  peculiar  and  vehe- 
ment manner  which  he  commonly  manifested  in  political  af- 
fairs. Napoleon's  words  are  given  by  Marbois,  in  his  History 
of  Louisiana,  as  follows: 

I  know  the  full  value  of  Louisiana,  and  I  have  been  desirous  of 
repairing  the  fault  of  the  French  negotiator  who  abandoned  it  in  1762. 
A  few  lines  of  a  treaty  have  restored  it  to  me,  and  I  have  scarcely  re- 
covered it  when  I  must  expect  to  lose  it.  But  if  it  escapes  from  me, 
it  shall  one  day  cost  dearer  to  those  who  oblige  me  to  strip'  myself  of 
it,  than  to  those  to  whom  I  wish  to  deliver  it.  The  English  have  suc- 
cessively taken  from  France,  Canada,  Cape  Breton,  Newfoundland, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  the  richest  portions  of  Asia.  They  are  engaged  in 
exciting  troubles  in  St.  Domingo.  They  shall  not  have  the  Mississippi 
which  they  covet.  Louisiana  is  nothing  in  comparison  with  their  con- 
quests in  all  parts  of  the  globe,  and  yet  the  jealousy  they  feel  at  the 
restoration  of  this  colony  to  the  sovereignty  of  France  acquaints  me- 


528  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

with  their  wishes  to  take  possession  of  it,  and  it  is  thus  that  they  will 
begin  the  war.  They  have  twenty  ships  of  war  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico; 
they  sail  over  those  seas  as  sovereigns,  whilst  our  affairs  in  St.  Do- 
mingo have  been  growing  worse  every  day  since  the  death  of  Leclerc. 
The  conquest  of  Louisiana  would  be  easy,  if  they  only  took  the  trouble 
to  make  a  descent  there.  I  have  not  a  moment  to  lose  in  putting  it 
out  of  their  reach.  I  know  not  whether  they  are  not  already  there. 
It  is  their  usual  course,  and  If  I  had  been  in  their  place;,  I  would!  not 
have  waited.  I  wish,  if  there  is  still  time,  to  take  away  from  them 
any  idea  that  they  may  have  of  ever  possessing  that  colony.  I  think 
of  ceding  it  to  the  United  States.  I  can  scarcely  say  that  I  cede  it  to 
them,  for  it  is  not  yet  in  our  possession.  If,  however,  I  leave  the  least 
time  to  our  enemies,  I  shall  only  transmit  an  empty  title  to  those  re- 
publicans whose  friendship  I  seek.  They  only  ask  of  me  one  town  in 
Louisiana;  but  I  already  consider  the  colony  as  entirely  lost,  and  it 
appears  to  me  that  in  the  hands  of  this  growing  power  it  will  be  more 
useful  to  the  policy,  and  even  to  the  commerce,  of  France,  than  if  I 
should  attempt  to  keep  it. 

The  ministers  thus  addressed  gave  opposite  opinions.  Mar- 
bois  declared  that  France  should  not  hesitate  to  sacrifice  what 
was  about  slipping  away  from  her;  that  war  with  England 
was  inevitable;  that  there  were  no  means  at  hand  to  send  gar- 
risons to  protect  the  province;  that  the  colony  was  open  to 
the  English  from  the  north  by  the  great  lakes,  and  if  they 
should  show  themselves  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  New 
Orleans  would  immediately  fall  into  their  hands;  that  nothing 
was  more  certain  than  the  fate  of  European  colonies  in 
America,  and  that  the  French  had  attempted  to  form  colonies 
in  several  parts  of  the  continent  of  America,  but  had  in  every 
instance  failed;  and  that,  in  order  to  make  the  colony  of  Louis- 
iana in  any  degree  successful,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have 
all  the  labor  performed  by  slaves,  although  slavery  must  be 
regarded  as  the  most  detestable  scourge  of  the  human  race. 

Decres,  on  the  other  hand,  gave  an  entirely  opposite  opin- 
ion. He  pointed  out  that  France  was  still  at  peace  with  Eng- 
land; that  the  colony  had  just  been  ceded  to  the  French,  and 
depended  on  the  First  Consul  to  preserve  it;  that  to  retain  it 
would  be  of  inestimable  importance  to  commerce  and  to  the 
maritime  provinces;  that  France,  deprived  of  her  navy  and 
her  colonies,  would  be  stripped  of  half  her  splendor,  and  a 
greater  part  of  her  strength;  that  Louisiana  could  indemnify 
France  for  all  her  losses;  that  when  an  inter-ocean  canal 
should  be  cut  through  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  Louisiana,  being 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  529 

on  the  track  of  trade  thus  opened  up,  would  assume  an  im- 
portance of  inestimable  value  to  France;  and  that,  if  it  were 
necessary  to  abandon  St.  Domingo,  Louisiana,  would  take  its 
place. 

Napoleon  terminated  the  conference  without  making  his 
intentions  known.  The  discussion  had  been  prolonged  far  into 
the  night.  At  daybreak  he  summoned  Marbois,  ai:d  had  him 
read  the  dispatches  that  had  just  arrived  from  London.  He 
was  informed  in  them  that  naval  and  military  preparations  of 
every  kind  were  being  made  with  extraordinary  rapidity. 
Upon  hearing  of  England's  preparation  for  war,  Napoleon  de- 
clared: 

Irresolution  and  deliberation  are  no  longer  in  season.  I  renounce 
Louisiana.  It  is  not  only  New  Orleans  that  I  will  cede;  it  is  the  whole 
colony,  without  any  reservation,  I  Snow  the  price  of  what  I  abandon, 
and  have  sufficiently  proved  the  importance  that  I  attach  to  this  pro- 
vince, since  my  first  diplomatic  act  with  Spain  had  for  its  object  the 
recovery  of  it.  I  renounce  it  with  the  greatest  regret.  To  attempt  ob- 
stinately to  retain  it  would  be  folly.  I  direct  you  to  negotiate  this  af- 
fair with  the  envoys  of  the  United  States.  Do  not  even  wait  the  ar- 
rival of  Mr.  Monroe;  have  an  interview  this  very  day  with  Mr.  Liv- 
ingston. But  I  require  a  great  deal  of  money  for  this  war,  and  I  would 
not  like  to  commence  it  with  new  contributions.  For  a  hundred  years 
France  and  Spain  have  been  incurring  expenses  for  improvements  in 
Louisiana,  for  which  its  trade  has  never  indemnified  them.  Large 
sums,  which  will  never  be  returned  to  the  treasury,  have  been  lent  to 
companies  and  to  agriculturists.  The  price  of  all  these  things  is  justly 
due  to  us.  If  I  should  regulate  my  terms  according  to  the  value  of 
these  vast  regions  to  the  United  States,  the  indemnity  would  have  no 
limits.  I  will  be  moderate,  in  consideration  of  the  necessity  in  which 
I  am  of  making  a  sale.  But  keep  this  to  yourself.  I  want  fifty  millions 
[francs],  and  for  less  than  that  sum  I  will  not  treat;  I  would  rather 
make  a  desperate  attempt  to  keep  those  fine  countries.    .... 

Perhaps  it  may  also  be  objected  to  me,  that  the  Americans  may 
be  found  too  powerful  for  Europe  in  two  or  three  centuries;  but  my 
foresight  does  not  embrace  such  remote  fears.  Besides,  we  may  here- 
after expect  rivalries  among  the  members  of  the  Union.  The  confeder- 
ations that  are  called  perpetual  only  last  till  one  of  the  contracting  par- 
ties finds  it  to  his  interest  to  break  them,  and  it  is  to  prevent  the 
danger  to  which  the  colossal  power  of  England  exposes  us,  that  I  would 
provide  a  remedy. 

Mr.  Monroe  is  on  the  point  of  arriving.  To  this  minister,  going 
two  thousand  leagues  from  his  constituents,  the  President  must  have 
given,  after  defining  the  object  of  his  mission,  secret  instructions,  more 

34 


530  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

extensive  than  the  ostensible  authorization  of  Congress,  for  the  stipu- 
lation of  the  payments  to  be  made.  Neither  this  minister  nor  his  col- 
league is  prepared  for  a  decision  which  goes  infinitely  beyond  anything 
that  they  are  about  to  ask  of  us.  Begin  by  making  them  the  overture, 
without  any  subterfuge.  You  will  acquaint  me,  day  by  day,  hour  by 
hour,  of  your  progress.  The  Cabinet  of  London  is  informed  of  the 
measures  adopted  at  Washington,  but  it  can  have  no  suspicion  of  those 
which  I  am  now  taking.  Observe  the  greatest  secrecy,  and  recommend 
it  to  the  American  ministers;  they  have  not  a  less  interest  than  your- 
self in  conforming  to  this  counsel.  You  will  correspond  with  M.  de 
Talleyrand,  who  alone  knows  my  intentions.  .  .  .  Keep  him  informed 
of  the  progress  of  this  affair.* 

The  import  of  this  declaration  was  communicated  to  Tal- 
leyrand and  soon  bore  fruit,  for  on  the  same  day  Talleyrand 
surprised  Livingston  with  a  new  offer.  Talleyrand  asked  Liv- 
ingston whether  the  Americans  wished  to>  have  the  whole  of 
Louisiana.  Livingston  replied  that  we  only  desired  New  Or- 
leans and  the  Floridas.  The  French  minister  said  that  if  they 
gave  us  New  Orleans,  the  rest  would  be  of  little  value,  and 
wished  to  know  what  we  would  give  for  the  whole.  Pressed 
for  an  answer,  Livingston  declared  that  while  it  was  a  propo- 
sition he  had  not  thought  of,  he  supposed  we  should  not  object 
to  a  price  of  twenty  million  francs,  if  our  claims  were  paid.t 
The  conversation  of  Talleyrand  at  this  interview  would  go  to 
show  that  the  resolution  to  sell  Louisiana  had  been  taken, 
and  that  now  the  negotiation  was  only  a  matter  of  price. 

The  proposition  thus  suddenly  made  to  Livingston  quite 
confounded  him.  He  had  been  endeavoring  for  a  long  time 
,to  bring  the  First  Consul  and  his  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs 
to  some  definite  proposal  with  regard  to  the  Louisiana  terri- 
tory, but  nothing  had  been  gained,  although  he  had  written 
and  talked  much  upon  the  question.  Neither  Talleyrand  nor 
Napoleon  could  charge  that  he  had  been  in  any  sense  negligent 
in  his  duties  in  this  regard.  Livingston  endeavored,  on  the 
following  day,  April  12th,  to  reap  the  fruits  of  his  labors  by 
an  interview  with  Talleyrand,  without  the  assistance  of  Mon- 
roe. Monroe  had  just  come  upon  the  scene,  but  had  not  as 
yet  conferred  with  Livingston,  nor  had  he  been  presented 
to  any  of  the  French  officials.     He  had  that  very  day  reached 

*J*istory  of  Louisiana,  Barfoe"  Marbois;    American  translation,   1830,  pp. 

fUvlngrston  to  Madison,  April  11,  1S03;    American  State  Papers,  Foreign 
Relations,  vol,  ii,  p.  552.  - 


THE  DUAL,  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  531 

Paris.  Livingston  attempted  to  close  the  matter  up  more  defi- 
nitely with  Talleyrand,  but  was  unable  to  do  so.  The  astute 
Frenchman  declared  that  his  proposition  was  only  personal, 
and  that  he  did  not  have  proper  authority  to  make  it  binding, 
and  finally  excused  himself  on  the  ground  that,  as  Louisiana 
was  not  yet  theirs,  he  could  make  no  terms  for  its  sale.* 

In  this  same  letter  Livingston  states  that  Monroe  passed 
April  18th  with  him  in  examining  documents;  that,  while 
Monroe  and  several  other  gentlemen  were  at  dinner  with  him, 
he  observed  the  Minister  of  the  Treasury,  Marbois,  walking  in 
the  garden;  and  that,  upon  invitation,  Marbois  came  in  while 
they  were  taking  coffee.  After  his  being  some  time  there, 
Livingston  and  he  strolled  into  the  next  room,  "when,"  says 
Livingston,  "he  told  me  he  heard  that  I  had  been  at  his  house 
two  days  before,  when  he  was  at  St.  Oloud;  that  he  thought 
I  might  have  something  particular  to  say  to  him,  and  had 
taken  the  first  opportunity  to  call  on  me.  I  saw  that  this 
was  meant  as  an  opening  to  one  of  those  free  conversations 

which  I  had  frequently  had  with  him He  went 

away,  and,  a  little  after,  when  Mr.  Monroe  took  leave,  I  fol- 
lowed him." 

The  conversation  of  the  leading  American  and  the  leading 
French  negotiator  of  the  treaty,  as  stated  in  this;  midnight 
letter,  forms  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  diplomatic 
history.  It  appears  that  after  a  social  cup  of  coffee  these 
two  representatives  of  two  great  nations  practically  settled 
the  purchase  of  half  a  continent.  Both  Livingston  and  Mar- 
bois treated  each  other  with  perfect  frankness  and  candor, 
and  it  is  owing  to  this  friendly  and  informal  conversation  that 
the  terms  of  the  treaty  were  settled  so  easily  and  amicably. 
It  is  certainly  true  in  this  instance  that  the  after-dinner  coffee 
and  cigars  figured  as  prominently  in  the  negotiations  as  did 
the  laborious  and  painstaking  diplomacy  of  Monroe  and  Tal- 
leyrand. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  actual  opening  of  the  negotiations  for 
the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  Livingston  had  no  direct  instruc- 
tions from  Madison,  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  purchase 
any  part  of  the  territory;  and  on  April  17th,  1803,  Liv- 
ingston complained  in  a  letter  to  him,  that  the  commission 
contained  power  only  to  treat  for  lands  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Mississippi,     "You  will  recollect  that  I  have  been  long  pre- 

*Livingston  to  Madison,  April  13,  1803,  midnight. 


532  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

paring  this  government  to  yield  us  the  country  above  tlie 
Arkansas.  ....  I  am  therefore  surprised  that  our  com- 
mission should  have  entirely  lost  sight  of  that  object." 

The  following  week  the  ministers  passed  in  attempting  to 
reduce  the  price  asked  for  Louisiana.  They  had  frequent 
interviews  with  Marbois,  and  pressed  upon  him  to  name  as 
early  a  day  as  possible  for  the  reception  of  Mr.  Monroe  at 
court.  Marbois  told  Livingston  that  he  would  speak  to  the 
First  Consul  at  once  on  the  subject  of  their  negotiations,  and 
that  he  hoped  some  person  would  be  appointed  to  treat  with 
the  American  envoys,  even  before  Mr.  Monroe  was  presented. 
In  consultation,  Monroe  and  Livingston  determined  to  offer 
fifty  million  francs,  including  the  debt  due  to  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States  from  France.  "I  reminded  him  of  the  Con- 
sul's promise  to  pay  the  debt.  I  placed  in  the  strongest  light 
his  personal  obligation  on  this  subject;  and  desired  him  to 
urge  it  as  an  additional  reason  to  conclude  an  agreement  which 
would  facilitate  the  means  of  doing  it.  The  next  morning 
.  .  .  .  I  again  called  to  see  him.  He  told  me  that  he  had 
been  to  St.  Cloud;  that  the  Consul  received  his  proposition 
very  coldly;  and  that  I  might  consider  the  business  as  no 
longer  in  his  hands,  since  he  had  given  him  no  further  powers ; 
that  he  had  urged  the  Consul's  promise  relative  to  the  debt, 
which  he  admitted,  but  said,  at  the  same  time,  he  did  not  think 
it  had  exceeded  three  millions,  though  my  letter  expressly  men- 
tioned twenty."* 

Livingston  had  used  many  and  persistent  endeavors  to  con- 
summate the  purchase  and  cession  of  this  territory.  He  had 
addressed  memorials  and  notes  of  great  length  to  the  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  and  also  to  the  First  Consul,  and  while 
they  answered  these  notes  politely,  the  replies  were  not  satis- 
factory. The  vast  territory  to  which  France  had  received  title 
by  her  treaty  with  Spain  formed  the  basis  of  many  plans  and 
calculations.  Among  the  most  favored  projects  of  the  First 
Consul  had  been  the  colonization  of  Louisiana,  He  saw  in 
it  a  new  Egypt;  he  saw  in  it  a  colony  that  was  to  counter- 
balance the  eastern  establishment  of  Britain;  he  saw  in  it  a 
provision  for  his  generals;  and,  what  was  more  important  in 
the  then  state  of  things,  he  saw  in  it  a  pretense  for  the  ostra- 
cism of  suspected  enemies.     His  advisers  generally  favored 

♦Livingston  to  Madison,  April  17,  1803. 


THE  DUAL.  ORIGIN  OP  MINNESOTA.  533 

the  plans  of  the  First  Consul,  and  they  would  not  hear  of 
any  disposition  of  it  by  sale.  A  commercial  sale  of  the  terri- 
tory had  never  been  relished  by  those  who  controlled  the  des- 
tinies of  France.  Livingston  firmly  believed  that  one  of  the 
reasons  why  a  sale  was  considered  at  all,  was  that  our  debt 
would  be  fully  and  promptly  paid.  Without  ready  funds  at 
hand'to  pay  this  debt,  Napoleon  saw  that  by  selling  Louisiana 
not  only  could  he  pay  the  debt,  but  at  the  same  time  raise 
sufficient  funds  to  wage  another  war.* 

Napoleon  drew  up  a  convention  which  he  trusted  to  Mar- 
bois,  which  outlined  certain  propositions  of  the  proposed 
treaty.  One  of  these  provided  for  the  disposition  of  the  terri- 
tory about  to  be  ceded:  "In  consequence  of  said  cession, 
Louisiana,  its  territory  and  its  proper  dependencies,  shall  be- 
come part  of  the  American  Union,  and  shall  form  successively 
one  or  more  states,  on  the  terms  of  the  Federal  constitution." 
French  commerce,  at  the  same  time,  was  to  be  fostered  by  the 
United  States,  and  given  all  the  privileges  of  American  com- 
merce, with  p,  perpetual  right  of  navigation  and  certain  fixed 
points  of  entry.  In  addition,  the  United  States  were  to  as- 
sume all  debts  due  to  American  citizens  under  the  treaty  of 
September  30th,  1800,  and  to  pay  in  addition  thereto  one  hun- 
dred million  francs  to  France. 

On  April  27th  Marbois  brought  the  document  proposed  by 
Napoleon  to  a  meeting  of  the  three  ambassadors  at  Mr.  Mon- 
roe's headquarters.  He  was  forced  to  admit  that  Napoleon's 
plan  was  unreasonable.  He  also  produced,  along  with  Na- 
poleon's scheme,  a  isubstitute  of  his  own,  somewhat  more  rea- 
sonable in  its  terms.  Livingston  endeavored  to  give  American 
claims  precedence.  He  desired  to  have  these  disposed  of  in 
case  the  cession  failed.  Monroe  thought  differently  about  this 
matter,  and  they  took  Marbois'  propositions  with  a  view  to 
considering  them.  After  working  over  them  for  a  day,  the 
American  ministers  drew  up  a  series  of  articles  embodying 
their  own  ideas.  On  the  29th  they  gave  Marbois  the  draft  of 
their  articles^  proposing  to  offer  fifty  million  francs  to  France, 
and  twenty  million  on  account  of  her  debt  to  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States.  Marbois  replied  that  he  would  proceed 
only  upon  the  condition  that  eighty  millions  were  accepted  as 
the  price,  and  to  this  the  American  ministers  assented;  and, 

♦Living-ston  to  Madison,  May  12,  1803. 


534  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

with  this  change,  Marbois  took  their  proposition  for  reference 
to  the  First  Consul.  On  the  30th  of  April,  Marbois  held  the 
tinal  and  conclusive  consultation  with  Napoleon,  and  at  this 
meeting  the  terms  betweeen  the  parties  were  agreed  upon. 

On  the  following  day  Monroe  was  formally  presented  at 
court,  and  dined  at  the  Tuileries  with  Livingston.  At  that 
meeting  Napoleon  said  nothing  of  the  business,  except  that  he 
agreed  it  should  be  settled  without  further  delay,  and  on 
the  same  evening  the  American  ministers  had  a  final  discus- 
sion of  the  subject  with  Marbois.  The  treaty  and  convention 
for  the  sixty  million  francs  to  be  paid  to  France  was  actually 
isigned  on  the  2d  day  of  May.  The  convention  respecting  Amer- 
ican claims  took  more  time  and  was  mot  signed  until  about 
May  9th.  All  of  these  documents  were  dated  as  of  April  30th, 
the  day  on  which  Marbois  had  his  final  conference  about  the 
business  with  Napoleon.  The  treaty  of  cession  was  communi- 
cated by  Livingston  and  Monroe  to  Mr.  Madison  on  the  13th 
of  May.  In  a  letter  accompanying  it  they  explained  some  of 
the  difficulties  in  accomplishing  the  transaction. 

An  acquisition  of  so  great  an  extent  was,  we  well  know,  not  con- 
templated by  our  appointment;  but  we  are  persuaded  that  the  circum- 
stances and  considerations  which  induced  us  to  make  it,  will  justify  us 
In  the  measure  to  our  government  and  country.  Before  the  negotiation 
commenced,  we  were  surprised  that  the  First  Consul  had  decided  to 
offer  to  the  United  States,  by  sale,  the  whole  of  Louisiana,  and  not  a 
part  of  it.  We  found,  in  the  outset,  that  this  information  was  correct, 
so  that  we  had  to  decide,  as  a  previous  question,  whether  we  would 
treat  for  the  whole,  or  jeopardize,  if  not  abandon,  the  hope  of  acquiring 
any  part.    On  that  point  we  did  not  long  hesitate,  but  proceeded  to 

treat  for  the  whole On  mature  consideration,  therefore,  we 

finally  concluded  a  treaty  on  the  best  terms  we  could  obtain  for  the 
whole.    .    .    . 

The  terms  on  which  we  have  made  this  acquisition,  when  com- 
pared with  the  objects  obtained  by  it,  will,  we  flatter  ourselves,  be 
deemed  advantageous  to  our  country.  We  have  stipulated,  as  you  will 
see  by  the  treaty  and  conventions,  that  the  United  States  shall  pay  to 
the  French  government  sixty  millions  of  francs  in  stock  bearing  in- 
terest of  six  per  cent.;  and  a  sum  not  exceeding  twenty  millions  more 
to  our  citizens,  in  discharge  of  the  debts  due  them  by  France,  under 
the  convention  of  1800.* 


♦Livingston  and  Monroe  to  Madison,  May  13,  1803;  American  State  Papers* 
Foreign  Relations,  vol.  ii,  p.  558. 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  535 

With  the  exception  of  the  correspondence  of  the  American 
ministers,  there  is  no  official  report  to  show  that  the  com- 
missioners of  the  respective  governments  met  in  formal  con- 
ference, nor  any  record  of  their  proceedings  or  discussions. 
No  record  was  left  of  the  date  when  the  agreement  was  made, 
although  it  wTas  one  of  the  most  important  measures  that 
has  ever  taken  place  in  American  history.  There  is  a  cloud 
of  shadow  and  mystery  surrounding  it.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  treaty  itself,  as  well  as  the  statements  of  Livingston, 
evidences  that  the  consummation  of  the  treaty  by  all  parties 
was  hasty. 

The  treaty  of  cession  did  not  attempt  to  define  the  bound- 
aries of  Louisiana.  The  words  with  reference  to  the  bound- 
aries were  taken  from  Berthier's  original  treaty  of  retroces- 
sion: "Louisiana,  with  the  same  extent  that  it  now  has  in 
the  hands  of  Spain,  and  that  it  had  when  France  possessed 
it,  and  such  as  it  .should  be  after  the  treaties  subsequently 
entered  into  between  Spain  and  other  states."  This  state- 
ment was  convenient  for  France  and  Spain.  All  that  the 
United  States  knew,  on  the  other  hand,  was  that  Louisiana, 
as  France  possessed  it,  had  included  a  part  of  Florida  and 
the  whole  of  the  Ohio  valley  as  far  as  the  Allegheny  mountains 
and  lake  Erie. 

The  agreed  price  represented  the  sum  of  f  11,250,000,  and 
the  further  sum  of  $3,750,000  for  the  payment  of  debts  due  to 
the  citizens  of  America,  making  a  total  of  f  15,000,000  as  the 
price  to  be  paid.  The  second  convention  attached  to  the 
treaty,  relating  to  the  debts  of  indemnity  due  from  France, 
was  probably  not  drawn  with  the  greatest  degree  of  skill. 
This  was  originally  drawn  by  Livingston  and  afterwards  was 
modified  by  Monroe  and  Marbois,  and  was  not  signed  until 
nearly  a  week  after  the  treaty  of  purchase.  The  stipulations 
in  the  convention  were  arbitrary  and  the  document  was  not 
accurate.  It  is  probable  that  neither  Livingston  nor  Monroe 
gave  very  careful  attention  to  it.  Its  most  serious  defect  was 
in  the  fact  that  the  estimate  of  twenty  million  francs  was 
very  much  below  the  amount  of  the  claims  which  the  French 
admitted  in  the  treaty;  besides,  there  was  no  rule  of  appor- 
tionment, and  the  right  of  final  decision  was  reserved  to  France 
in  every  case.    Some  of  these  defects  may  be  accounted  for 


536  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

by  the  statement  of  Livingston  that  the  moment  was  critical 
and  the  question  of  peace  or  war  was  in  the  balance,  and  that 
it  was  important  to  come  to  a  conclusion  before  either  scale 
preponderated.  As  the  indemnity  provided  by  this  convention 
was  considered  to  be  a  mere  trifle  compared  with  the  great 
object  of  the  treaty,  namely,  the  purchase  of  the  territory, 
and  as  it  had  already  been  delayed  for  a  long  time,  the  Amer- 
ican ambassadors  were  ready  to  take  it  in  almost  any  form. 

This  position  of  Livingston,  as  viewed  in  the  light  of  subse- 
quent history,  was  correct.  He  was  right  in  securing  his  main 
object  at  any  cost.  It  is  true  that  he  might  have  saved  his 
reputation  as  a  diplomatist  if  he  had  given  more  time  to  the 
convention  relating  to  claims.  He  could,  however,  have  gained 
no  more  than  he  did  for  the  government.  The  two  conven- 
tions of  1800  and  1803  gained  for  the  United  States  two  objects 
of  great  value.  The  first  released  the  United  States  from 
treaty  obligations  which,  if  carried  out,  would  require  war 
with  England.  The  second  secured  for  the  Union  the  whole 
west  bank  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  province  of  New  Orleans, 
together  with  all  advantages  that  would  subsequently  flow 
therefrom.  In  return,  the  United  States  promised  not  to  press 
the  claims  of  its  citizens  against  the  French  government,  ex- 
cept to  the  amount  of  $3,750,000,  which  represented  one-fourth 
part  of  the  purchase  price  of  Louisiana.  From  almost  every 
point  of  view,  the  negotiators,  as  well  as  their  government, 
were  to  be  congratulated  upon  the  satisfactory  terms  then 
consummated. 

In  the  many  transfers  of  this  territory,  no  complete  or  accu- 
rate boundary  had  ever  been  drawn.  It  now  became  necessary 
to  define  accurately  the  boundaries  of  the  new  territory.  The 
treaty  of  cession  had  quoted  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of 
Ildefonso,  and  Louisiana  had  been  ceded  to  the  United  States 
"with  the  same  extent  that  it  now  has  in  the  hands  of  Spain, 
and  that  it  had  when  France  possessed  it,  and  such  as;  it 
should  be  after  the  treaties  subsequently  entered  into  between 
Spain  and  other  states."  This  description  is  not  definite  nor 
certain,  and  it  could  only  be  determined  by  the  rules  of  inter- 
national law. 

The  original  province  of  Louisiana  embraced  not  only  the 
territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  but  also  West  Florida  to 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  537 

the  Perdido  river.  West  Florida  had  already  been  ceded  to 
France  by  Spain  at  the  time  of  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso, 
and  by  the  treaty  between  Spain  and  the  United  States  in 
1795  the  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  West 
Florida  had  been  established.  This  explains  the  last  clause 
of  the  third  article  of  the  treaty.  In  the  case  of  Johnson  vs. 
Mcintosh,  Chief  Justice  Marshall  says  that  in  the  discovery  of 
this  immense  continent,  the  nations  of  Europe  were  eager  to 
appropriate  to  themselves  so  much  of  it  as  they  could  respec- 
tively acquire;  but,  as  all  were  in  pursuit  of  the  same  object, 
it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  avoid  war  with  each  other,  to 
establish  a  principle  which  all  should  acknowledge  as  the  law 
by  which  the  right  of  acquisition  should  be  regulated.  The 
principle  thus  adopted  was  that  discovery  gave  title  to  the 
government  by  whose  subjects  or  by  whose  authority  it  was 
made,  against  all  other  European  governments,  which  title 
might  be  consummated  by  possession.  France  rested  her  title 
on  the  vast  territory  she  claimed  in  America  on  discovery.  It 
was  on  this  ground  that  she  claimed  Louisiana,  through  the 
discovery  of  La  Salle  in  1682. 

After  the  protracted  war  between  England  and  France, 
which  was  terminated  by  the  treaty  of  Paris  in  1763,  France 
ceded  to  Great  Britain  all  of  Louisiana  north  of  the  Ohio  and 
east  of  the  Mississippi.  This  war  was  really  one  for  supremacy 
in  the  western  world.  When  it  was  over,  French  power  was 
at  an  end  in  America. 

The  American  ministers  at  first  had  insisted  on  defining 
the  boundaries,  and  Marbois  had  presented  their  request  to 
Napoleon.  He  refused  any  information  upon  the  matter  of 
boundaries,  and  intentionally  concealed  the  boundary  he  him- 
self had  defined.  A  knowledge  at  this  time  of  the  exact  boun- 
dary claimed  by  France  would  have  prevented  a  tedious  and 
humiliating  dispute.  Being  unable  to  secure  any  information 
from  Napoleon  as  to  the  boundaries,  Livingston  first  went  to 
Marbois. 

I  called  this  morning  upon  M.  Marbois  for  a  further  explanation 
on  this  subject,  and  to  remind  him  of  his  having  told  me  that  Mobile 
made  a  part  of  the  cession.  He  told  me  that  he  had  no  precise  idea  on 
the  subject,  but  that  he  knew  it  to  be  an  historical  fact,  and  that  on 


538  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

that  only  he  had  formed  his  opinion.  I  asked  him  what  orders  had 
been  given  to  the  prefect  who  was  to  take  possession,  or  what  orders 
had  been  given  by  Spain,  as  to  the  boundary,  in  ceding  it.  He  assurea 
me  that  he  did  not  know,  but  that  he  would  make  inquiry. 

Afterward  Livingston  went  to  Talleyrand  for  the  same 
purpose. 

I  asked  the  minister  what  were  the  east  bounds  of  the  territory 
ceded  to  us.  He  said  he  did  not  know;  we  must  take  it  as  they  had 
received  it.  I  asked  him  how  Spain  meant  to  give  them  possession. 
He  said,  'According  to  the  words  of  the  treaty.'  'But  what  did  you 
mean  to  take?'  'I  do  not  know.'  'Then  you  mean  that  we  shall  con- 
strue it  in  our  own  way?'  'I  can  give  you  no  direction;  you  have  made 
a  noble  bargain  for  yourselves,  and  I  suppose  you  will  make  the  most 
of  it.'* 

v  The  answer  of  Talleyrand  would  not  have  been  different, 
even  if  Livingston  had  known  that  Victors  instructions  re- 
ceived from  Decres,  which  began  by  fixing  the  very  boundaries 
under  discussion,  were  still  in  the  desk  of  the  astute  diplomat. 

The  western  boundaries  of  the  purchase  were  not  more 
certain.  There  were  joint  claims  of  France  and  Spain  to  the 
territory  lying  west  of  the  Sabine  river.  France  based  her 
claims  upon  the  occupation  of  La  Salle,  and  Spain  upon  the 
general  extent  of  her  Mexican  possessions.  In  acquiring  Louis- 
iana, the  United  States  obtained  the  rights  of  France  to  the 
regions  west  of  the  Sabine.  At  the  time  of  the  purchase  the 
western  boundary  of  Louisiana  was  the  Rio  Bravo  or  Eio 
Grande  river,  if  we  concede  that  La  Salle,  in  taking  possession 
of  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard,  carried  rights  to  the  great  river 
which  was  midway  between  his  post  and  the  nearest  Spanish 
settlement  at  Panuco.  Jefferson  held  that  this  claim  was 
valid.t 

It  was  a  question,  however,  which  remained  in  dispute 
until  1819,  when  the  United  States  abandoned  all  claims  west 
of  the  Sabine.  According  to  this  treaty,  the  boundary  line 
between  the  territory  of  Spain  and  that  of  the  United  States 
was  to  run  from  the  mouth  of  the  Sabine  river  along  its 
west  bank  to  the  32nd  degree  of  latitude;   thence  due  north 


*Ldvingston  to  Madison,  May  20,  1803;  American  State  Papers,  Foreign 
Relations,  vol.  ii,  p.  561. 

fLetter  of  Jefferson  to  John  Melish,  the  geographer. 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  539* 

to  the  Red  river;  thence  westward  along'  that  river  to  the 
100th  degree  of  longitude  west  from  London;  thence  north 
to  the  Arkansas  wrer;  thence  along  its  southern  bank  to  the 
42nd  degree  of  latitude;  and  thence  west  along  that  parallel 
of  latitude,  to  the  South  sea. 

The  northern  boundary  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  was,  at 
the  time  of  the  making  of  the  treaty,  admitted  to  be  the  source 
of  the  Mississippi.  It  had  been  assumed  by  the  treaty  of  178& 
that  this  source  was  northwest  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  and 
beyond  the  49th  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  Pickering,  in  a 
memoir  to  Jefferson,  intended  that  the  boundary  west  from 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Mississippi  should  be  on  that 
parallel.  In  1818  a  convention  of  Great  Britain,  recognizing* 
the  fact  that  the  "most  northwestern  point"  of  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods  might  be  distant  from  the  49th  parallel,  provided  that 
the  line  frdin  that  point  should  be  due  north  or  south,  as  was 
required,  until  it  struck  that  parallel,  and  thence  westward  on 
that  parallel  to  the  crest  of  the  Rocky  or  Stony  mountains. 
This  line  was  subsequently  agreed  upon  in  the  Webster-Ash- 
burton  treaty  of  1842.  There  has  been  considerable  contro- 
versy as  to  the  northwestern  limits  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase, 
as  to  whether  or  not  any  part  of  the  territory  west  of  the 
Rocky  mountains  was  included  in  the  treaty  of  cession. 

Marbois,  in  his  History  of  Louisiana,  published  twenty-six 
years  after  the  treaty  by  which  the  United  States  acquired 
Louisiana,  says:  "The  shores  of  the  western  ocean  were  cer- 
tainly not  included  in  the  cession;  but  the  United  States  are 
already  established  there."  He  further  states  that  the  bound- 
aries were  uncertain,  and  that  in  his  conference  with  Napoleon 
he  spoke  to  him  of  the  obscurity  of  that  article  of  the  treaty, 
and  the  inconvenience  of  a  stipulation  so  uncertain,  to  which 
Napoleon  replied,  "If  an  obscurity  did  not  already  exist,  it 
would  perhaps  be  good  policy  to  put  one  there."* 

The  map  which  accompanied  this  work  of  Marbois,  in  its 
original  publication  in  Paris,  showed  the  territory  extending 
from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  as  the  "Acquisition 
of  the  United  States  by  the  treaty  and  by  its  results."    This* 

*Marbois'  History  of  Louisiana,  p.  286. 


540  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

would  seem  to  imply  that  the  whole  territory,  in  the  mind  of 
Marbois,  was  not  acquired  by  the  treaty.  General  Stoddard, 
who  took  possession  of  Upper  Louisiana  in  March,  1804,  takes 
substantially  the  same  yiew.  In  giving  the  boundaries  of  the 
territory,  he  says  that  it  is  bounded  "south  on  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico;  west,  partly  on  the  Eio  Bravo,  and  partly  on  the  Mex- 
ican mountains;  north  and  northwest,  partly  on  the  Shining 
mountains  [Eocky  mountains],  and  partly  on  Canada  [New 
France] ;  east  on  the  Mississippi  from  its  source  to  the  thirty- 
first  degree;  thence  extending  east  on  the  line  of  demarkation 
to  the  Eio  Per  dido;  thence  down  that  river  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico/'* 

The  French  apparently  never  actually  claimed  as  far  as  the 
Pacific,  but  many  authorities  have  held  that  the  right  of  con- 
tiguous territory  would  give  to  the  United  States  the  entire 
country  west  of  the  Eocky  mountains.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  boundaries  of  the  territory  ceded  to  us  by  France, 
it  was  all  comprised  and  included  under  the  name  of  Louisiana. 

The  history  in  brief  of  the  transfers  of  the  territory  so 
named  is  as  follows :  that  La  Salle,  under  a  royal  commission 
from  Louis  XIV,  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  in 
1682;  that  in  the  name  of  that  sovereign  he  claimed  the  river 
and  all  its  tributaries  and  all  the  country  watered  by  those 
streams,  under  the  name  of  Louisiana;  that  the  country  was 
explored  and  occupied  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  to 
its  source;  that  on  the  14th  of  September,  1712,  Louis  XIV 
granted  this  territory  to  Crozat,  declaring  that  the  edicts,  ordi- 
nances, and  customs  of  Paris  should  be  observed;  that  after- 
wards, the  assignee  of  Crozat  surrendered  the  country  back 
to  the  king;  that  on  the  3d  of  November,  1762,  France  ceded 
to  Spain  all  of  Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and 
all  east  of  that  stream  and  south  of  the  31st  degree  of  north 
latitude,  including  thus  the  province  of  New  Orleans;  that  in 
1800  Spain  retroceded  the  same  country  to  France,  by  the 
treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso,  except  as  the  territory  may  have  been 
changed  by  the  treaties  made  by  Spain;  and  that  on  the  30th 
day  of  Rpril,  1803,  this  same  territory  was  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  and  is  known  in  our  history  as  the  Louisiana  Purchase. 


♦Stoddard's  Sketches  of  Louisiana,  1812,  p.  148. 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  541 

TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENTS. 

Not  only  was  the  area  which  now  comprises  the  State  of 
Minnesota  partially  embraced  in  the  Northwest  Territory 
ceded  to  the  United  States  by  Virginia  in  1783,  but  that  part 
was  subsequently  included  successively  in  the  territories  of  In- 
diana, Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin.  The  other  and  larger 
part  of  Minnesota,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  was  in  like  manner 
successively  a  part  of  the  territories  of  Louisiana,  Missouri, 
Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Iowa. 

On  December  20th,  1783,  the  legislature  of  Virginia  passed 
an  act  to  authorize  the  delegates  of  that  state  in  Congress  to 
convey  to  the  United  States  all  the  rights  of  that  common- 
wealth to  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river.     This  act 
empowered  the  representatives  of  that  state  in  Congress,  by 
proper  deed  or  instrument  in  writing,  to  convey  and  make 
over  to  the  United  States  for  the  benefit  of  said  states,  all 
right,  title,  and  claim,  as  well  of  soil  as  jurisdiction,  which  the 
State  of  Virginia  had  to  the  territory  or  tract  of  country, 
within  the  limits  of  the  Virginia  charter,  which  was  situated 
northwest  of  the  Ohio  river.    The  conditions  of  cession  were 
that  the  territory  so  ceded  should  be  laid  out  and  formed  into 
states  of  suitable  extent  and  territory;    that  the  states  so 
formed  should  be  distinct  republican  states,  and  admitted  mem- 
bers of  the  Union,  having  the  same  rights  of  sovereignty,  free- 
dom, and  independence  as  the  other  states;  and  that  the  neces- 
sary expenses  incurred  by  Virginia  in  subduing  the  British  pos- 
session or  in  acquiring  any  part  of  the  territory  so  ceded  should 
be  fully  reimbursed  by  the  United  States,  and  that  these  ex- 
penses should  be  arranged  by  three  commissioners.     The  deed 
of  cession  thus  provided  for  was  made  on  the  1st  day  of 
March,  1784,  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  Samuel  Hardy,  Arthur  Lee,, 
and  James  Monroe,  the  delegates  then  in  Congress  from  Vir- 
ginia. 

After  Congress  decided  to  divide  the  Northwest  Territory 
into  not  more  than  five  nor  less  than  three  states,  as  proposed 
in  article  five  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  the  State  of  Virginia 
ratified  such  action  of  Congress  in  1788  by  a  special  act.  This 
was  to  avoid  any  difference  of  interpretation  that  might  arise 
from  the  size  of  the  new  states  as  provided  by  the  original  act 
of  cession  passed  by  Virginia  in  1784. 


542  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Pursuant  to  an  act  of  Congress  approved  April  30th?  1802, 
the  people  of  the  eastern  division  of  the  territory  northwest 
of  the  Ohrio  river,  under  the  name  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  were 
permitted  to  form  a  constitution  for  state  government. 

The  remaining  portion  of  the  Northwest  Territory  had  been 
constituted  a  separate  territory  on  May  7th,  1800,  and  was 
known  as  Indiana  Territory.  On  February  3rd,  1809,  Indiana 
Territory  was  divided  into  two  separate  governments,  and  all 
of  that  territory  which  lay  west  of  the  Wabash  river  and  a 
direct  line  drawn  from  the  Wabash  river  and  Post  Vincennes 
due  north,  with  all  other  territory  lying  between  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  constituted  a  separate  territory  called  Illi- 
nois. 

By  an  act  of  Congress  passed  January  11th,  1805,  all  that 
part  of  Indiana  Territory  which  lay  north  of  a  line  drawn 
east  from  the  southern  bend  or  extremity  of  lake  Michigan 
until  it  should  intersect  lake  Erie;  and  east  of  a  line  drawn 
from  the  said  southerly  bend  through  the  middle  of  lake  Mich- 
igan to  its  northwest  extremity,  and  thence  due  north  to  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  United  States,  was,  for  the  purpose 
of  government,  constituted  a  separate  territory,  called  Mich- 
igan.* 

When  the  territorial  government  of  Wisconsin  was  formed 
by  an  act  of  Congress  approved  April  20th,  1836,  it  included 
the  whole  of  the  present  State  of  Minnesota.! 


*The  boundaries  of  Michig-an  as  established  by  this  act  were  necessarily 
changed  by  the  acts  of  Congress  approved  April  9th,  1816,  June  18th,  1818, 
June  28th,  1834,  and  April  20th,  1836.  The  act  of  1818  extended  the  territory 
westward  to  the  Mississippi  river,  and  the  act  of  1834  added  the  territory 
between  the  Mississippi  river  on  the  east  and  'the  Missouri  and  White  Earth 
rivers  on  the  west.  Michigan  territory  then  extended  from  Lakes  Erie  and 
Huron  (westward  to  the  Missouri  river,  and  from  'the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  and  Missouri,  northward  to  the  British  dominions. 

fThe  Territory  of  Wisconsin  was  bounded  as  follows:  On  the  east,  by 
a  line  drawTn  from  the  northeast  corner  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  throug-h  the 
middle  of  lake  Michigan,  to  a  point  in  the  middle  of  said  lake  and  opposite 
the  main  channel  of  Green  Bay,  and  through  said  channel  and  Green  Bay, 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Menomonie  river;  (thence  throug-h  the  middle  of  the 
main  channel  of  said  river,  to  that  head  of  said  river  nearest  to  the  Lake 
of  the  Desert;  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the  middle  of  said  lake;  thence 
through  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  Montreal  river,  to  its  mouth; 
thence  with  a  direct  line  across  Lake  Superior,  to  where  the  territorial  line 
of  the  "United  States  last  touches  said  lake  northwest;  thence  on  the  north, 
with  the  said  terriorial  line,  to  the  White  Earth  river;  on  the  west,  by  a  line 
from  the  said  boundary  line  following  down  the  middle  of  the  main  channel 
of  White  Earth  river,  to  the  Missouri  river,  and  down  the  middle  of  the 
main  channel  of  the  Missouri  river  to  a  point  due  west  from  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  State  of  Missouri;  and  on  the  south,  from  said  point,  due  east 
to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  State  of  Missouri;  and  thence  with  the  boun- 
daries of  the  States  of  Missouri  and  Illinois,  as  already  fixed  by  actst  of  Con- 
gress. J        I         !  J  I  I         '  ■■'■•.     . 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  543 

By  an  act  of  Congress  approved  March  26th,  1804,  the  ter- 
ritory acquired  by  the  Louisiana  Purchase  was  divided  into  the 
territories  of  Louisiana  and  Orleans.  In  the  original  act  the 
former  was  designated  as  the  "District"  of  Louisiana;  but  a 
supplementary  act  of  Congress  approved  March  3rd,  1805, 
names  it  the  Territory  of  Louisiana.  By  an  act  of  Congress 
approved  June  4th,  1812,  its  name  was  changed  to  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Missouri. 

In  1834,  Congress  passed  an  act  relative  to  certain  parts  of 
the  Louisiana  Purchase,  as  follows:  "Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That 
all  that  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  bounded  on 
the  east  by  the  Mississippi  river,  on  the  south  by  the  State 
of  Missouri,  and  a  line  drawn  due  west  from  the  northwest 
corner  of  said  state  to  the  Missouri  river;  on  the  southwest 
and  west  by  the  Missouri  river  and  the  White  Earth  river, 
falling  into  the  same;  and  on  the  north  by  the  northern  bound- 
ary of  the  United  States,  shall  be,  and  hereby  is,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  temporary  government,  attached  to,  and  made  a  part 
of,  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  and  the  inhabitants  therein  shall 
be  entitled  to  the  same  privileges  and  immunities,  and  be 
subject  to  the  same  laws,  rules,  and  regulations,  in  all  respects, 
as  the  other  citizens  of  Michigan  territory."  This  was  the  first 
special  provision  made  for  the  government  of  that  portion  of 
the  Territory  of  Missouri  not  included  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  State  of  Missouri,  which  had  been  defined  by  the  act 
of  Congress  approved  March  6th,  1820. 

When  the  territory  of  Wisconsin  was  formed,  as  before 
noted,  in  1836,  it  included  this  part  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase. 
Again,  after  two  years  more,  when  the  territorial  government 
of  Iowa  was  formed  by  an  act  of  Congress  approved  June  12th, 
1838,  its  boundaries  included  the  same  part  of  the  present  state 
of  Minnesota,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  which  during  the  pre- 
ceding four  years  had  been  thus  successively  under  the  juris- 
diction of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin.  The  act  of  Congress  form- 
ing Iowa  declares  that  "all  that  part  of  the  present  territory 
of  Wisconsin  which  lies  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and 
west  of  a  line  drawn  due  north  from  the  headwaters  or  source 
of  the  Mississippi  to  the  territorial  line,  shall,  for  the  purposes 
of  temporary  government,  be  and  constitute  a  separate  terri- 
torial government  by  the  name  of  Iowa." 


544  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Congress,  on  March  3rd,  1849,  passed  an  act  providing  for 
the  territorial  government  of  Minnesota.  The  Territory  of 
Minnesota  extended  west  beyond  the  boundary  of  the  present 
State,  and  included  parts  of  both  North  and  South  Dakota, 
The  promoters  of  the  interests  of  Minnesota  also  desired  and 
attained  the  incorporation  of  a  part  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory with  that  larger  tract  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  to  form 
the  new  territory. 

On  the  west  of  the  St.  Croix  river  and  extending  to  the 
Mississippi  river,  there  lay  a  remnant  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, out  of  which,  by  a  provision  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787, 
only  five  states  could  be  formed.  After  Iowa  was  admitted 
as  a  state,  the  region  north  of  its  northern  line  and  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  formerly  belonging  to  Iowa  as  a  territory,  was 
Imown  as  the  Indian  country.  The  Mississippi,  from  the  time 
of  formation  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  was  the  recognized 
western  boundary  line  of  Wisconsin  Territory.  In  the  various 
bills  that  originated  in  Congress,  and  in  *the  two  conventions 
held  in  Wisconsin  to  adopt  a  state  constitution,  the  question 
of  the  western  boundary  of  Wisconsin  was  a  leading  one. 
There  were  many  propositions  advocated,  both  in  Wisconsin 
and  in  Congress.  One  was  to  include  the  entire  country  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  east  of  a  line  drawn  from  its  source 
north  to  the  British  possessions,  within  the  new  state;  an- 
other was  to  make  the  Rum  river  the  western  boundary,  thence 
extending  to  Lake  Superior;  another  made  the  St.  Croix  river 
the  western  boundary;  and  still  another,  the  Chippewa  river. 
It  was  argued,  by  those  who  favored  the  proposition  first 
noted,  that  the  Ordinance  of  1787  made  it  compulsory  to  limit 
the  entire  Northwest  Territory  to  lire  states.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  was  claimed  that  the  fifth  and  last  state  to  be  organ- 
ized out  of  the  Northwest  Territory  could  be  restricted  in  its 
boundary,  so  that  a  portion  of  the  territory  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi could  be  taken  in  connection  with  a  portion  of  the  ter- 
ritory west  of  that  river  and  north  of  Iowa  to  make  a  future 
state,  without  in  any  way  violating  the  provisions  of  the  Or- 
dinance of  1787.  In  the  end  this  view  was  carried  out,  but  not 
before  many  disputes  and  contentions  arose.  A  compromise 
was  finally  reached  between  the  contending  factions,  and  the 
boundary  line  of  the  St.  Croix  river  was  determined  upon. 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  545 

* 

This  was  approved  by  the  constitutional  convention,  and  was 
confirmed  by  a  vote  of  the  citizens  of  Wisconsin.  It  was  finally 
accepted  and  approved  by  Congress  in  admitting  the  state  to 
the  Union. 

When  Minnesota  was  organized  as  a  territory  in  1849,  its 
boundaries  were  fixed  in  the  Enabling  Act  and  extended  on  the 
west  to  the  Missouri  river.*  The  territory  at  that  time  was 
little  more  than  a  wilderness;  and  the  Indian  title  to  the  lands 
upon  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  from  Iowa  to  lake 
Itasca,  had  not  been  extinguished. 

Under  successive  acts  of  Congress  the  Louisiana  Purchase 
had  been  divided  into  various  territories.  By  an  act  of  Con- 
gress, approved  March  26th,  1804,  the  southern  part  of  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  was  constituted  as  the  territory  of  Orleans, 
its  northern  boundary  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  being 
at  the  south  line  of  the  Mississippi  Territory,  and  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river  at  the  33rd  degree  of  north  latitude.  The  resi- 
due of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  was  called  the  District  of  Louis- 
iana, and  was  placed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Indiana  Ter- 
ritory. By  a  subsequent  act  of  March  3rd,  1805,  the  District 
of  Louisiana  was  designated  by  the  name  of  the  Territory  of 
Louisiana.  A  governor  was  appointed  to  serve  three  years, 
and  a  secretary  for  four  years,  and  the  legislative  power  of 
the  territory  was  vested  in  the  governor  and  three  judges  or 
a  majority  of  them. 

By  an  act  approved  June  4th,  1812,  Congress  changed  the 
name  of  Louisiana  Territory  to  Missouri,  and  provided  more 
fully  for  its  territorial  government.  The  executive  officers 
were  the  governor  and  secretary,  for  three  and  five  years  re- 
spectively.  The  legislative  power  was  vested  in  a  general  as- 
sembly consisting  of  the  governor,  a  legislative  council  of  nine 


♦The  boundaries  of  Minnesota  Territory  were  designated  in  this  act  as 
follows:  "Beginning-  in  the  Mississippi  river,  at  the  point  where  the  line  of 
forty-three  degrees  and  thirty  minutes  of  north  latitude  crosses  the  same; 
thence  running  due  west  on  said  line,  whiclh  is  the  northern  boundary  of  the 
state  of  Iowa,  to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  said  state  of  Iowa;  'thence  south- 
erly along  the  western  boundary  of  said  state  to  the  point  where  said  boun- 
dary strikes  the  Missouri  river;  thence  up  the  middle  o'f  the  main  channel 
of  the  Missouri  river  to  the  mouth,  of  the  White  Earth  river;  thence  up  the 
middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  White  Earth  river,  do  the  boundary  line 
between  the  possessions  of  the  United  States  and  Great;  Britain;  thence  east 
and  south  of  east,  along1  the  boundary  line  between  the  possessions  of  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  to  Lake  Superior;  thence  in  a  straight  line 
to  the  northernmost  point  of  the  "state  of  Wisconsin  in  Lake  Superior;  thence 
along  the  western  boundary  line  of  said  state  of  Wisconsin,  to  the  Missis- 
sippi river;  thence  down  the  main  channel  of  said  river  to  the  place  of  begin- 
ning." 

35 


546  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

members  appointed  by  the  president,  for  five  years,  fire  of 
whom  were  to  constitute  a  quorum,  and  a  house  of  represent- 
atives elected  by  the  people  to  serve  for  two  years.  The 
judicial  power  was  vested  in  a  superior  court  and  such  inferior 
courts  as  would  be  found  necessary.  Among  the  provisions 
of  this  act  we  find  two  that  seem  worthy  of  mention.  One  of 
these  shows  that  the  principle  of  the  government  holding 
public  lands  was  fully  understood  and  approved  at  this  time. 
It  reads  as  follows:  "The  general  assembly  shall  never  inter- 
fere with  the  primary  disposal  of  the  soil  by  the  United 
States."  The  other  enactment  referred  to  taxation,  and  pro- 
vided that  "the  lands  of  non-resident  proprietors  shall  never 
be  taxed  higher  than  those  of  residents." 

ADMISSION  OP  MINNESOTA  TO  THE  UNION. 

On  December  24th,  1856,  there  was  a  bill  introduced  into 
Congress  by  Henry  M.  Rice,  delegate  from  the  Territory  of  Min- 
nesota, authorizing  the  people  of  that  territory  to  form  a  con- 
stitution. The  bill  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Terri- 
tories, of  which  Galusha  A.  Grow  of  Pennsylvania  was  chair- 
man. A  substitute  bill,  which  afterwards  became  the  En- 
abling Act,  defined  the  boundaries  of  the  proposed  state  as 
they  now  exist.*  This  act  changed  the  boundaries  some- 
what from  those  provided  by  the  bill  of  Mr.  Rice.  John  S. 
Phelps,  of  Missouri,  in  commenting  upon  the  boundaries  of 
the  proposed  state,  declared  that,  since  five  states  had  already 
been  formed  from  the  Northwest  Territory,  it  would  be  a  vio- 
lation of  the  Ordinance  of  1787  to  incorporate  a  part  of  that 
territory  into  a  new  state.  Advocates  of  the  measure,  how- 
ever, did  not  look  upon  it  in  that  light.     The  bill  was  brought 


♦"Beginning  at  the  point  in  the  center  of  the  main  channel  of  the  Bed 
river  of  the  North,  where  the  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and 
the  British  possessions  crosses  the  same;  thence  up  the  main  channel  of  said 
river  to  that  of  the  Bois  des  Sioux  river;  thence  up  the  main  channel  of  said 
river  to  Lake  Travers;  thence  up  the  center  of  said  lake  to  the  southern 
extremity  thereof;  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the  head  of  Big  Stone  lake; 
thence  ithrough  its  center  to  its  outlet;  thence  toy  a  due  south  line  to  the 
north  line  of  the  State  of  Iowa;  thence  east  along:  the  northern  boundary  of 
said  state  to  the  main  channel  of  the  Mississippi  river;  thence  up  the  main 
channel  of  said  river,  and  following:  itihe  boundary  line  of  the  State  of  Wis- 
consin, until  the  same  intersects  the  Saint  Louis  river;  thence  down  said 
river  to  and  through  Lake  Superior,  on  the  boundary  line  of  Wisconsin  and 
Michigan,  until  it  intersects  the  dividing  line  between  the  United  States  and 
the  British  possessions;  thence  up  Pigeon  river,  and  following  said  dividing 
line,  to  the  place  of  beginning,"  Congressional  Globe,  vol.  43,  Appendix,  p. 
402. 


THE  DUAL  ORIGIN  OF  MINNESOTA.  547 

to  vote  with  very  little  debate,  and  was  passed  by  97  in  favor 
to  75  against  it. 

In  the  Senate  the  debate  was  more  prolonged  and  some- 
what acrimonious.     Senator  Thompson,  of  Kentucky,  made  a 
speech  of  strenuous  opposition,  in  which  the  fact  that  he  was 
a  partisan  upon  the  question  of  slavery  distinctly  appeared. 
When  Minnesota  asked  for  admission  to  the  Union  two  oppos- 
ing forces  were  contending  for  supremacy  in  the  territory  se- 
cured by  the  Louisiana  Purchase.     The  party  in  favor  of  slav- 
ery were  zealous  to  maintain  their  rights,  and  to  reserve  as 
much  as  possible  of  the  new  territory  for  the  propagation  of 
their  peculiar  institution.     Previous  to  the  admission  of  Cali- 
fornia, in  1850,  which  was  the  last  state  received  into  the  Union 
before  Minnesota,  there  were  fifteen  states  in  which  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  was  permitted,  and  the  same  number  in  which 
it  was  prohibited  by  law.     This  great  contest  was  renewed 
with  increased  vigor  by  the  Kansas-Kebraska  bill  of  1854;  and 
when,  two  years  afterward,  Minnesota  applied  for  admission 
to  the  Union,  the  pro-slavery  and  the  anti-slavery  forces  were 
striving  in  every  way  to  gain  the  mastery  in  Kansas.     Senator 
Thompson  said: 

These  Minnesota  men,  when  they  get  here  and  see  my  friend 
from  Michigan  [Cass]  and  my  friend  from  Iowa  [Jones]  struck  down, 
will  grapple  up  their  bones  from  the  sand,  and  make  handles  out  of 
them  for  knife  blades  to  cut  the  throats  of  their  Southern  brethren.  I 
want  no  Minnesota  senators I  know  some  men  talk  about  an- 
nexing Canada  and  all  New  France;  but  I  hope  that,  when  they  come 
in,  we  shall  go  out.  I  do  not  wish  to  have  any  more  of  Mexico  annexed, 
unless  you  annex  it  by  a  treaty  so  controlling  its  regulations  and  mu- 
nicipal institutions  as  to  erect  it  into  a  slave  State.  The  equilibrium 
in  the  Senate  is  destroyed  already.  The^re  is  now  an  odd  number  of 
States,  and  the  majority  is  against  the  slave-holding  States.  I  want 
no  hybrid,  speckled  mongrels  from  Mexico,  who  are  free-state  people. 
It  is  bad  enough  to  have  them  from  New  England,  Christianized  and 

civilized  as  they  are My  notion  of  governing  the  territories 

is,  that  they  ought  to  be  governed  by  a  proconsul,  and  pay  tribute  to 
Csesar.  I  would  not  puff  them  up  with  Treasury  pap  or  plunder  in 
the  way  of  public  lands,  like  an  Austrian  horse  that  is  sleek  /and 
bloated  with  puff,  instead  of  real  fat  and  strength,  by  putting  arsenic 
in  his  food.  Are  you  to  stall-feed  the  people  in  these  Territories?  No, 
sir.  I  would  treat  them  differently.  Like  boys  that  get  too  big  for 
their  breeches,  they  ought  to  have  rigid  discipline  administered  to 


548  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

them;  they  ought  to  be  made  to  know  their  place,  and  constrained  to 
keep  it.    We  are  told  of  there  being  two  hundred  thousand  people  in 

Minnesota.    I  do  not  care  if  there  are  five  hundred  thousand 

Minnesota  is  undoubtedly  a  portion  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase 

This,  it  seems  to  me,  under  the  treaty  of  Louisiana,  is  incontestably 
slave  territory.* 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  principles  laid  down  in  the 
Ordinance  of  1T87  dominated  all  of  the  state  papers  relating  to 
the  admission  of  Minnesota  to  the  Union.  The  provisions  of 
that  ordinance  are  clearly  to  be  found  in  the  organic  act  for 
the  establishment  of  the  territorial  government,  passed  March 
3rd,  1849,  as  also  in  the  act  authorizing  the  state  government, 
passed  February  26th,  1857;  and  finally  they  were  embodied 
in  the  constitution  of  the  state  itself.  We  find,  of  the  main 
articles  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787  which  have  been  thus  pre- 
served, article  one,  referring  to  religious  belief;  article  two, 
forming  the  bill  of  rights  of  the  people;  and  article  three, 
relating  to  education  and  good  government. 

It  is  also  noteworthy  that  these  same  provisions,  which  re- 
lated to  all  the  Northwest  Territory  under  the  Ordinance  of 
1787,  have  passed  over  to,  and  have  been  dominant  in,  the 
constitutions  and  governments  of  almost  all  the  states  that 
have  been  carved  out  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase.  This  fact 
alone  would  seem  to  show  the  great  importance  and  enduring 
character  of  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  ordinance  itself. 
The  territory  which  accrued  to  the  United  States  by  the  cession 
of  Great  Britain  in  1783  was  not  nearly  so  extensive  as  that 
obtained  from  France  in  1803,  yet  the  principles  early  laid 
down  for  the  government  of  the  smaller  acquisition  have  pre- 
vailed in  the  commonwealths  formed  from  either.  Thus  the 
Ordinance  of  1787  became  a  protecting  segis  which  extended 
its  authority  and  power  far  beyond  the  limits  to  which  it  orig- 
inally applied.  This  is  clearly  seen  in  the  state  of  Minnesota, 
which  formed  a  connecting  link  binding  parts  of  the  two  great 
cessions  into  a  single  commonwealth;  but,  if  further  proof 
were  required,  it  would  be  discovered  in  the  constitutions  of 
nearly  every  state  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific. 

*Congressional  Globe,  vol.  43,  p.  850. 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  XVIII. 


CELEBRATION  OF  THE  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 
OF  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  MINNESOTA 
HISTORICAL  SOCIETY,  IN  THE  HALL  OF  THE 
HOUSE    OF    REPRESENTATIVES,    ST.    PAUL, 

MINN.,  WEDNESDAY,  NOVEMBER  15,  1899. 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  COMMITTEE  OF  THE 
EXECUTIVE  COUNCIL: 

Henry  L.  Moss,  William  P.  Clough, 

Russell  Blakeley,  George  H.  Daggett, 

Greenleaf  Clark,  William  G.  Le  Duo, 

Warren  Upham,  Secretary. 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES. 
AFTERNOON   SESSION. 


The  meeting  in  the  afternoon,  at  half  past  two  o'clock,  was 
opened  by  Hon.  Henry  L.  Moss,  chairman  of  the  Anniversary 
Committee,  who  said: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  Fifty  years  ago,  on  November  15th, 
1849,  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society  was  organized  under  an 
act  of  the  legislature  of  the  Territory  at  its  first  session,  which 
received  the  approval  of  Governor  Ramsey  on  October  20th, 
1849.  To-day  wre  have  with  us,  as  the  present  president  of  the 
society,  that  first  Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  and 
I  have  the  pleasure  of  now  asking  him  to  take  his  seat  and 
preside  on  this  occasion. 

As  Governor  Ramsey  stepped  forward,  he  was  greeted  with 
great  and  prolonged  applause.  The  order  of  the  program  was 
then  taken  up,  including  the  following  invocation  and  ad- 
dresses. 

INVOCATION. 


BY  REV.  ROBERT  FORBES,  D.  D. 


Almighty  God,  our  Father,  we  bow  reverently  in  Thy  pres- 
ence. We  draw  nigh  unto  Thee.  We  come  with  reverence 
that  Thou  art  the  great  and  mighty  God.  We  approach  with 
filial  confidence  because  Thou  art  our  Father.  We  render 
thanks  unto  Thee  that  in  the  order  of  Thy  providence  we  are 
permitted  to  assemble  in  this  place.  We  remember  that  every 
good  and  perfect  gift  cometh  from  Thine  hand,  and  we  thank 
Thee  for  all  that  life  is  and  all  that  it  means  to  us.  We  give 
thanks  unto  God  for  all  the  beautiful  sights  that  please  the 


552  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

eye,  for  this  beautiful  world  in  which  we  live,  for  the  forest 
and  the  field,  for  the  mountain  and  the  valley,  for  the  land  and 
for  the  sea,  for  the  sun  that  shines  by  day  and  the  moon  and 
the  stars  by  night.  Glory  be  to  God  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  pleasant  sounds 
that  fall  upon  the  ear,  for  the  words  of  wisdom  that  Thou 
revealest  to  babes,  and  for  the  life  of  childhood.  We  thank 
Thee  for  the  world  within,  the  world  of  reason  and  memory 
and  hope  and  imagination.  We  give  thanks  for  our  country, 
this  great  land  we  so  proudly  call  our  own,  the  land  of  our 
birth  and  of  our  fathers'  graves;  and  we  pray,  O  Lord  God, 
that  Thy  blessing  may  still  rest  upon  this  nation,  so  that  the 
world  shall  continue  to  rejoice  in  the  light  of  America's  civili- 
zation and  her  pure  form  of  Christianity. 

We  pray  for  the  blessing  of  heaven  to  come  upon  this 
great  State,  this  State  of  Minnesota.  O,  we  thank  Thee  for 
what  it  is,  for  the  prairie  and  the  forest  and  the  mine,  for 
all  the  treasures  that  are  here;  not  only  for  material  bless- 
ings, but  we  thank  Thee  for  home  and  school  and  college  and 
church,  and  for  all  the  benevolent  institutions  that  exist.  God 
grant  His  blessing  upon  this  great  State.  Let  Thy  mercy  come 
to  the  men  and  the  women  who  are  here  to-day  and  are  par- 
ticularly interested  in  the  work  of  this  Historical  Society.  We 
thank  Thee  for  the  brave,  manly  men,  and  the  womanly  wo- 
men, who  came  here  in  the  early  days  and  laid  the  foundations 
of  this  State.  The  wise  man  said,  long  ago,  "The  hoary  head 
is  a  crown  of  glory  if  it  be  found  in  the  way  of  righteous- 
ness"; and  we  have  ourselves  observed  that  nearly  all  the 
hoary  heads  are  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness.  "The 
wicked  shall  not  live  out  half  their  days."  God  grant  His 
blessing  upon  the  men  and  women  here  assembled,  and  upon 
all  the  interests  they  represent.  We  thank  Thee  for  our  civili- 
zation, for  the  hope  given  unto  us  in  the  Gospel,  for  the  idea  of 
our  immortality.  O,  Lord  God,  bless  the  churches  of  every 
name,  Catholic  and  Protestant,  Jew  and  Gentile,  orthodox  and 
heterodox.  This  poor  old  world  is  not  so  rich  in  goodness, 
truth,  and  devotion  and  loyalty,  and  love  and  self-sacrifice, 
that  we  can  afford  to  slight  any  agency  that  promises  to  do 
even  a  little  good.  God  bless  the  churches  and  the  schools,  and 
the  teachers  in  the  schools,  and  the  professors  in  our  colleges 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  553 

and  universities,  all  the  people  who  in  any  way  mold  and  di- 
rect public  sentiment,  and  guide  us  all  by  Thy  counsels. 

And  we  thank  Thee  for  the  pleasant,  the  beautiful  dream 
of  the  hereafter, — that  land  where  every  winter  turns  to 
spring,  that  land  that  is  fairer  than  day,  the  land  of  which  the 
poets  have  sung,  the  land  of  which  our  mothers  have  told  us, 
and  the  land  in  whose  existence  we  most  certainly  believe  in 
our  own  highest  and  best  moments.  We  thank  Thee  for  the 
idea  that  we  shall  never  die,  that  we  shall  simply  lay  this 
throbbing  dust  aside  and  step  out  into  the  unending  life. 

O  God  of  our  fathers,  help  us  to  be  good  and  true,  to  walk 
in  the  way  of  righteousness.  Bless  us  and  our  children,  and 
our  children's  children,  and  all  the  people  everywhere,  and 
bring  us  at  last  to  the  glory  of  that  better  land.  In  Jesus' 
name.  Amen. 

GBEETING, 


BY  HON.  JOHN  LIND,  GOVERNOR  OF  MINNESOTA. 


Human  development  and  culture,  in  their  inception  at  least, 
are  probably  the  outgrowth  of  the  unconscious  activity  of  the 
race  to  adjust  itself  to  the  varying  phases  of  physical  nature, — 
of  its  environment.  Every  new  condition  to  which  man  has 
been  subjected  has  developed  and  called  into  play  new  facul- 
ties, and  has  added  new  powers  to  the  individual,  and  new 
forces  to  society.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  every  migration 
has  resulted  in  advancement,  both  of  the  individual  and  of  the 
social  body  of  which  he  became  a  member. 

This  principle  is  nowhere  more  forcibly  illustrated  than  in 
our  own  land,  and,  I  might  say,  than  in  our  own  state.  The 
character  of  all  of  our  people  has  been  shaped  by  the  influence 
of  one  or  more  successive  migrations.  That  the  original  set- 
tlers on  the  Atlantic  coast,  within  a  few  generations,  differenti- 
ated from  the  populations  from  which  they  had  descended,  and 
developed  new  traits  and  characteristics  in  response  to  the  new 
environment  and  new  conditions  to  which  they  were  subjected 
and  which  they  had  to  meet,  is  a  matter  of  history.  That  every 
subsequent  migration  to  the  westward  contributed  to  this  ac- 
cumulation of  human  experience  new  elements  of  the  most 


554  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

varied  and  comprehensive  character,  cannot  be  questioned. 
As  a  result,  I  believe  it  safe  to  say  that  we  have  in  the  West, 
and  particularly  in  the  Northwest,  a  population  which  for  en- 
ergy, versatility,  physical  and  mental  power,  and  genius,  is  not 
excelled  in  the  world.  This,  if  I  am  right  in  the  proposition 
suggested,  is  in  part  due  to  their  manifold  experiences  inherit- 
ed and  acquired.  The  wonderful  pluck  and  energy  of  the  pio- 
neers of  this  state;  the  ease  and  facility  with  which  they  ad- 
justed themselves  to  frontier  conditions;  the  phenomenally 
short  time  in  which  they  transformed  these  conditions  into 
those  of  culture  and  civilization,  and  the  forethought  and  acu- 
men with  which  they  shaped  our  institutions  and  established 
agencies  for  the  future  development  of  a  high  degree  of  culture 
and  civilization  among  our  people,  as  evidenced  by  this  society 
and  by  our  magnificent  common  school  system,  seem  to  me  con- 
firmatory of  the  view  advanced. 

That  our  incomparable  growth  and  progress  as  a  nation 
and  as  a  state  have  been  in  a  large  measure  due  to  the  oppor- 
tunities which  a  rich  and  new  country  have  ailorded,  and  to 
the  dormant  faculties  in  the  human  mind  which  new  conditions 
and  the  new  environment  have  tended  to  stimulate  and  de- 
velop, is  probably  conceded  by  all;  and,  if  conceded,  it  also  ad- 
monishes us  of  the  fact  that  these  factors  will  not  be  so  ac- 
tively operative  in  the  future  as  they  have  been  in  the  past,, 
and  one  might  conclude  from  this  premise  that  our  continued 
advancement  will  not  be  as  rapid  as  heretofore.  I  think,  how- 
ever, that  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  society,  at  least  in  this  coun- 
try and  in  our  own  state,  has  arrived  at  a  stage  of  develop- 
ment and  culture  whence  it  will  consciously  and  knowingly 
continue  to  guide  the  development  of  a  higher  civilization  and 
better  social  conditions,  notwithstanding  that  the  factors 
which  have  unconsciously  contributed  to  that  end  are  not  so 
active  as  they  have  been  in  the  past  And  to  this  conscious, 
positive  work  for  the  betterment  of  society,  it  seems  to  me  that 
no  single  factor,  except  our  common  schools,  will  contribute 
more  than  the  work  of  this  society  and  the  material  which  it 
has  accumulated.  History  has  been  defined  as  the  biography 
of  society.  We  know  that  the  individual  profits  by  the  con- 
scientious study  of  the  life  of  other  great  individuals.  As 
suggested,  I  believe  that  civilization  has  now  reached  a  point 
where  society  can  profit  by  the  study  of  its  own  biography. 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  555 

Your  society  has  written  and  is  writing  a  biography,  not  only 
of  pioneers,  but  of  a  young  commonwealth.  ISio  greater  work, 
,nor  one  fraught  with  more  promise  for  the  future,  could  be 
undertaken.  The  people  are  beginning  to  appreciate  its  value, 
as  is  shown  by  more  liberal  contributions,  both  from  individ- 
uals and  from  the  state,  from  time  to  time. 

On  this  memorable  occasion  it  does  not  become  me,  belong- 
ing as  I  do  to  a  later  generation,  to  occupy  much  of  your  time. 
I  congratulate  those  of  you  who  wTere  present  and  co-operated 
in  the  establishment  of  this  society,  fifty  years  ago,  on  the 
work  that  you  then  did,  and  on  the  wisdom  and  public  spirit 
that  prompted  yon  to  such  action,  and  I  trust  that  the  present 
and  future  generations  may  profit  by  your  example.  Es- 
pecially does  it  afford  me  pleasure  to  see  present  with  us  to- 
day the  Hon.  Alexander  Kamsey,  who  occupied  the  position 
.which  I  now  hold  at  the  time  this  society  was  organized,  and 
/who  has  contributed  so  much  to  the  growth,  development, 
and  honor  of  our  state.  I  know  that  I  voice  the  feelings  of 
all  present  when  I  express  the  hope  that  he  may  long  con- 
tinue with  us,  enjoying  the  same  physical  and  mental  vigor 
.which  have  always  been  his  portion.  No  higher  tribute  can 
be  paid  to  the  memory  of  the  patriotic  men  who  founded  this 
.society,  nor  any  greater  compliment  to  the  early  members 
thereof  who  are  still  with  us,  than  is  implied  in  the  very  fact 
that  a  commonwealth  so  young  as  ours  is  enabled  to  celebrate 
the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  its  Historical  Society. 

To  this  celebration  the  honor  has  been  conferred  upon  me 
to  formally  extend  you  the  State's  welcome,  which  I  do  most 
heartily,  both  as  a  citizen  and  as  the  Chief  Executive  of  our 
great  State. 

BESPONSE. 


BY  THE   PRESIDENT,   HON.  ALEXANDER  RAMSEY. 


The  members  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Minnesota,  after 
fifty  years  of  effort  to  bring  it  to  its  highest  degree  of  useful- 
ness, which  have  immeasurably  succeeded,  felt  that  upon  this 
occasion,  fifty  years  having  transpired  and  still  a  number  of 
those  who  came  here  at  that  early  day  being  amongst  us,  it 


556  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

was  a  proper  thing  to  have  a  celebration  of  the  organization 
of  this  society.  We  all  feel  proud  at  the  response  which  you 
have  given  to  the  suggestion  from  us,  and  hope  that  you  all 
and  others  will  also  be  present  here  to-night 

My  friends,  if  you  had  been  here  with  us  at  the  earliest 
days  when  the  light  began  to  shine  upon  this  province  of  ours, 
you  would  scarcely  have  expected  to  find  in  fifty  years  so 
large,  bright  and  intelligent  an  audience  as  I  see  before  me, 
now  collected  here.  It  is  not  an  ordinary  thing  to  raise  upon 
the  plains  of  a  new  and  primitive  country,  yet  inhabited  by 
its  oldest  possessors,  a  population  and  measures  of  progress 
such  as  we  see  instituted  in  this  country,  such  as  we  have 
now  here.  When  I  came  here  in  1849  and  looked  out  upon  the 
new  State  or  Commonwealth  (which  we  anticipated  it  would 
be  in  a  short  time)  of  Minnesota,  you  can  scarcely  imagine 
what  it  was  like.  It  was  one  vast,  unoccupied,  unpossessed, 
unimproved  country,  spreading  far  and  wide,  with  beautiful 
plains  green  with  herbage,  large  and  small  rivers  running  to 
the  sea,  and  in  every  way  a  beautiful  and  hopeful  prospect. 
I  am  glad  we  have  advanced  as  far  as  we  have.  I  have  been 
in  the  whole  history  of  this  northwest  country,  and  I  might 
say  in  the  whole  history  of  the  United  States  during  the  same 
period  of  fifty  years.  There  is  scarcely  an  instance  in  which 
a  population  as  large  and  as  progressive  and  intelligent  as  ours 
has  been  brought  together  in  so  short  a  time.  Then  there  was 
scarcely  anything  that  could  be  dignified  with  the  mame  of 
town  or  village.  I  landed  here  in  St.  Paul,  and,  looking 
around,  I  saw  here  and  there,  and  at  another  distant  place,  a 
small  cabin,  half  a  house,  or  something  of  that  kind.  When  I 
revisited  my  old  home  in  Pennsylvania,  it  was  after  Mr.  Neill 
had  built  the  first  brick  house  in  St.  Paul,  up  near  where  the 
Metropolitan  Hotel  stands.  Some  of  my  old  neighbors,  with 
the  intent,  I  suppose,  of  triumphing  over  a  little  pride  I  was 
exhibiting,  asked  me,  "Have  you  a  brick  house  in  town?"  "We 
have  a  brick  house,"  said  I;  and  it  was  the  only  one  we  had. 
It  saved  me  the  mortification  of  saying  we  had  none. 

This  country,  as  you  know,  the  territory  of  the  State  of 
Minnesota,  is  quite  large.  It  is,  indeed,  within  a  small  frac- 
tion of  figures,  as  large  as  the  States  of  Pennsylvania  and  New 
York,  which  are  in  the  first  rank,  as  to  area,  among  the  states 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  557 

of  the  Union.    Nearly  all  of  Minnesota,  about  as  large  as  both 
those  states,  was  owned  at  that  time  by  the  Indians.  Two  great 
tribes  that  figure  conspicuously  in  Indian  history,  the  Dakotas 
and  the  Ojibways,  were  here,  the  Dakotas  occupying  nearly 
half  the  area,  and  the  O  jib  ways  the  other  half  in  the  north. 
We  happened  to  be  located  with  our  towns  and  earlier  settle- 
ments in  the  southern  part  of  this  region,  in  the  Dakota  coun- 
try.  And  from  that  early  beginning,  in  fifty  years,  with  the 
country  occupied  in  wars  and  troubles  of  one  sort  and  another, 
we  have  been  growing  to  an  extent  that  no  one  probably  at 
the  time  anticipated.    By  even  the  most  farsighted,  it  could 
scarcely  have  been  anticipated.   We  have  large  towns,  quite 
large  towns.    Here  is  one  close  west  of  us,  probably  with  a 
population  of  two  hundred  thousand,  or  more;  we  in  the  capital 
city  count  somewhat  less,  but  we  are  very  willing  to  be  equal 
with  our  neighbor,  and  may  some  day  attain  it.  We  have  other 
towns  of  sixty,  and  twenty,  and  twelve  thousand  inhabitants. 
We  have  a  university  which  would  be  the  pride  of  any  state, 
surpassed  in  its  number  of  students  by  only  one  or  two  oth- 
ers in  the  Union.   We  have  every  kind  of  institution  which 
usually  shows  the  growth  of  civilization  and  increased  popu- 
lation, and  all  this  has  been  achieved  in  fifty  years  of  time.    I 
doubt  whether  in  the  whole  history  of  our  country  any  instance 
of  so  great  progress  of  a  new  state  can  be  pointed  out. 

So  late  as  1851,  after  the  treaties  with  the  Dakota  Indians 
at  Traverse  des  Sioux  and  Mendota,  I  was  instructed  by  the 
government  to  take  a  party  and  proceed  to  the  Red  river  val- 
ley, near  the  British  line,  to  make  a  treaty  with  the  Ojibways 
of  Red  river,  and  with  those  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  for 
the  extinguishment  of  their  title,  that  the  government  might 
distribute  lands  for  homes  among  the  settlers  who  had  come 
down  in  great  numbers  from  the  Red  river  country,  as  it  was 
then  called,  comprising  the  Selkirk  settlements.  This  was 
probably  in  the  month  of  August  or  September  of  1851.  We 
had  a  military  escort,  not  a  very  large  one,  for  our  protection 
in  the  Indian  country;  and  a  great  number  accompanied  the 
expedition,  for  one  purpose  and  another.  We  proceeded  to 
Sauk  Rapids.  The  roads  of  course  were  very  indifferent,  the 
settlements  had  just  commenced,  and  there  with  considerable 
difficulty  we  were  assisted  in  crossing  the  Mississippi  river, 


558  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

and  thence  passed  out  to  the  Bois  des  Sioux  river,  which  is 
one  of  the  headwaters  of  the  Red  river  of  the  North.  We 
passed  down  the  far  side  of  the  Red  river,  and  at  a  point 
which  I  suppose  to  have  been  about  ten  miles  west  of  where 
the  city  of  Fargo  now  is,  we  came  across  a  monstrous  herd  of 
buffalo.  I  think  there  must  have  been  five  thousand  in  it.  We 
traveled  with  them,  and  they  with  us.  We  were  indifferent  to 
each  other.  We  occasionally  killed  one.  And  so  we  went  down 
to  near  the  crossing  of  the  river,  near  the  present  town  of 
Pembina.  There  we  camped  for  three  or  four  weeks  and  nego- 
tiated a  treaty  with  those  Indians.  In  all  that  distance,  I 
was  going  to  say,  in  all  that  long  line  of  four  hundred  miles, 
we  did  not  see,  excepting  those  who  belonged  to  our  own  party, 
a  white  man  or  a  white  woman,  an  Indian,  or  a  mixed-blood, — 
not  one  in  over  four  hundred  miles.  We  saw  no  other  human 
beings  than  those  who  were  with  us.  Since  that  time  progress 
has  taken  place  in  that  formerly  uninhabited  and  unimproved 
country.  Now  all  that  country  is  occupied  by  farms,  villages, 
and  towns;  it  is  cut  up  into  counties;  and  the  organizations 
which  characterize  a  prosperous  and  cultured  people  have  fol- 
lowed. Schools  have  been  erected,  colleges  established,  and 
every  kind  of  benevolent  and  charitable  institution.  You  have 
them  everywhere,  just  as  perfect  as  in  any  state  an  this 
Union. 

But  I  need  not  further  recall  the  past,  nor  contrast  it  with 
the  present  time,  tracing  the  steps  of  our  advance.  These 
themes  will  be  well  considered  by  those  gentlemen  who  have 
been  specially  appointed  to  address  you.  They  will  review  the 
work  accomplished  by-  this  Historical  Society,  and  the  prog- 
ress of  Minnesota  and  of  the  United  States,  during  the  fifty 
years  since  the  organization  of  our  society  and  of  Minnesota 
Territory.      > 


J, 

'.jr. 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  XIX. 


ORGANIZATION  AND  GROWTH  OF  THE  MINNESOTA 
HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


BY  GEN.  WILLIAM  G.  LE  DTJC. 


Because  I  am  one  of  the  few  surviving  members  of  the  Min- 
nesota Historical  Society  whose  record  of  membership  dates 
back  to  the  year  1850^  the  year  in  which  the  active  life  of  the 
society  began,  I  have  been  assigned  the  task  of  reciting  such 
of  the  incidents  of  organization  and  growth  as  may  be  recapit- 
ulated in  the  brief  period  of  ten  to  fifteen  minutes.  The  lim- 
itation of  time  will  therefore  permit  me  only  to  outline  the 
beginning  and  somewhat  of  the  progress  of  a  beneficent  liter- 
ary institution,  which  in  the  most  unpretentious  manner  began 
its  existence  in  a  frontier  log  tavern  on  Bench  street  in  the 
then  village  of  St.  Paul,  fifty  years  ago.  This  subject  has  here- 
tofore been  treated  by  other  members  of  the  society,  and  I  can 
add  but  little,  if  anything,  beyond  a  repetition  or  verification 
of  statements  made  at  previous  meetings. 

The  society  had  its  origin  in  the  suggestion  and  action  of 
one  whose  unpopularity  at  that  time  and  afterward  tended  to 
hinder,  rather  than  to  promote,  any  scheme  he  might  have 
proposed  or  been  associated  with.  Seeking  the  real  genesis 
of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  the  reason  why  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Territory,  Charles  K.  Smith,  took  active  interest 
in  this  matter,  I  found  in  the  printed  records  of  the  society, 
in  an  address  made  by  our  venerable  President  Ramsey,  that 
he  surmised  that  Mr.  Smith  had  been  connected  with  a  his- 
torical society  in  his  native  state,  Ohio,  and  saw  the  import- 
ance of  collecting  the  past  and  current  history  of  the  new 
country  to  which  he  had  been  sent  as  secretary  of  the  terri- 
torial government.    This  suggestion  is  very  close  to  the  truth. 


560  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Mr.  Smith  and  other  young  men  of  his  age,  living  in  the  interi- 
or and  western  part  of  Ohio,  were  enthused  by  the  writings 
and  lectures  of  the  learned  antiquarian  and  historian  of  that 
state,  Hon.  Caleb  At  water,  a  prominent  lawyer,  member  of 
the  legislature,  author,  lecturer,  and  United  States  official,  a 
graduate  of  Williams  College,  who  emigrated  from  Massa- 
chusetts in  1811  and  settled  in  Ohio  at  Circleville.  This  town 
was  located  on  the  banks  of  the  Scioto  river,  upon  the  site  of 
what  had  evidently  been  a  very  large  and  important  town  of 
the  mound  builders,  whose  circular  earthwork  gave  name  to 
the  modern  American  town  of  Circleville.  The  valley  of  the  Sci- 
oto had  been  occupied  by  a  numerous  population  well  enough 
advanced  in  the  arts  and  sciences  of  construction  to  measure 
accurately,  lay  out  geometric  forms,  and  construct  earthworks 
that  were  in  a  remarkable  state  of  preservation  hundreds  of 
years  after  their  abandonment  by  the  builders.  No>  historic 
record  of  that  people  could  be  found,  other  than  the  mounds 
and  fortifications  upon  which  oak  trees  had  grown  and  fallen 
and  decayed,  giving  place  to  others  that  had  grown  to  the 
maturity  of  hundreds  of  years.  Mr.  Atwater  devoted  much 
time  to  a  patient  examination  of  these  earthworks  at  Circle- 
ville and  other  places  in  Ohio,  making  surveys,  maps  and  rec- 
ords of  the  contents  of  mounds,  and  preserving  whatever  he 
found  of  pottery,  stone  or  metal  implements,  and  other  rem- 
nants of  a  vanished  and  forgotten  race,  whose  monuments 
proved  them  to  have  been  a  numerous  and  agricultural  people. 
He  published,  among  other  books,  a  volume  entitled  "Western 
Antiquities,"  which  attracted  much  attention  to  historic  mat- 
ters. I  was  a  school  boy  in  Ohio  at  that  time,  and  I  speak 
frqm  personal  knowledge  of  the  influence  of  Mr.  Atwater's 
books  and  lectures  on  the  youth  of  that  period.  We  were  all 
antiquarians,  collectors,  and  historical  society  boys. 

Charles  K.  Smith,  who  lived  at  Hamilton,  not  far  from 
Circleville,  was  thus  indoctrinated  with  the  historical  fervor 
which  manifested  itself  later  in  the  southeast  corner  room  of 
Robert  Kennedy's  log  tavern  on  Bench  street,  St.  Paul.  This 
room  was  Mr.  Smith's  office  as  the  territorial  secretary.  Here 
he  drew  up  an  act,  in  two  sections,  to  incorporate  the  Histori- 
cal Society  of  Minnesota,  and  included  as  incorporators,  with 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY. ADDRESSES.  5gJ 

himself,  the  names  of  eighteen  others,  embracing  the  members 
of  the  territorial  government  (excepting  the  governor,  Alex- 
ander Ramsey),  and  the  principal  other  persons  then  in  Min- 
nesota Territory  who  would  probably  feel  any  interest  in  the 
subject.  None  of  the  incorporators  were  consulted;  it  was 
assumed  that  they  would  not  object  to  be  included  in  an  act 
of  incorporation  which  contained  only  two  sections,  and  by 
which  no  apparent  responsibilities  were  incurred.  This  act 
was  approved  the  20th  day  of  October,  1849,  by  Governor 
Ramsey.  A  certified  copy  was  made  November  10th,  1849, 
by  Mr.  Smith;  and  the  society  was  formally  organized  on  No- 
vember 15th,  1849,  in  the  office  of  Secretary  Smith. 

This  meeting  consisted  of  the  chairman,  William  Henry 
Forbes,  a  Canadian  born,  then  in  the  service  of  the  American 
Fur  Company,  the  secretary,  Charles  Kilgore  Smith,  and  oth- 
ers of  the  corporate  members.  L.  A.  Babcock,  David  Olm- 
sted, J.  0.  Ramsey,  and  Henry  L.  Moss  are  shown  to  have 
been  present  by  the  record  of  motions  which  they  proposed. 
The  organization  of  the  Society  was  completed  by  the  election 
of  officers.  Alexander  Ramsey  was  elected  as  president;  David 
Olmsted  and  Martin  McLeod,  vice  presidents;  William  H. 
Forbes,  treasurer;  and  C.  K.  Smith,  secretary.  A  committee, 
consisting  of  L.  A.  Babcock,  Franklin  Steele,  Judges  Good- 
rich and  Cooper,  H  .  L.  Moss,  Dr.  T.  R.  Potts,  and  D.  B.  Loomis, 
was  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution  and  by-laws  and  report 
at  a  meeting  to  be  held  on  the  second  Monday  in  January, 
1850,  the  date  of  the  first  annual  meeting  fixed  by  the  charter. 

Secretary  Smith  now  enlisted  the  willing  services  of  the 
Rev.  Edward  Duffield  Neill  to  attract  attention  to  the  society. 
At  a  meeting  held  January  1st,  1850,  in  the  Methodist  church, 
on  Market  street,  an  address  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Neill,  the 
subject  of  which  was,  "The  French  Voyageurs  to  Minnesota 
during  the  Seventeenth  Century.7'  This  address,  which  was 
the  first  of  a  series  of  most  interesting  and  instructive  histori- 
cal contributions  made  by  Rev.  Dr.  Neill  to  the  Historical  So- 
ciety, attracted  the  attention  of  the  people  of  Minnesota  Ter- 
ritory; and,  as  it  was  published  and  widely  distributed,  it  re- 
ceived praise  from  many  scholars  and  historians,  and  put  the 
Minnesota  Historical  Society  upon  a  plane  of  respectability. 

36 


502  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

With  this  lecture  the  rude  methods  of  tradition  passed  for 
Minnesota,  and  the  pen  of  our  historian  and  beloved  comrade 
Neill  began  the  record. 

The  annual  meeting,  having  been  advertised  in  the  Chron- 
icle and  Register  (an  administration  paper  published  in  St. 
Paul),  was  held  on  Monday,  January  14th,  1850,  at  the  office 
of  0.  K.  Smith.  It  secured  an  attendance  of  eight,  four  of 
whom  were  of  the  incorporators ;  but  none  of  the  officers  who 
had  been  elected  was  present,  excepting  the  secretary.  Six 
of  those  recorded  as  present  were  young  lawyers,  whose  time 
was  not  so  much  occupied  with  the  duties  of  their  profession 
at  that  time  as  it  was  subsequently,  for  they  all  became  active 
and  influential  citizens.  These  were  L.  A.  Babcock,  who  was 
attorney  general  for  the  Territory,  appointed  by  the  governor; 
Henry  L.  Moss,  who  was  the  first  United  States  attorney  for 
the  district  of  Minnesota;  A.  Van  Vorhes,  afterwards  a  land 
officer  for  the  United  States  at  Stillwater;  James  B.  Wake- 
field, who  was  lieutenant  governor  of  Minnesota  for  the  years 
1876  to  1880;  Michael  E.  Ames,  an  astute  lawyer,  whose  serv- 
ices were  in  demand  in  the  more  important  cases  in  court 
while  he  lived,  but  who  died  early;  and  Morton  S.  Wilkinson, 
known  to  most  of  this  audience,  who  represented  the  state  in 
the  National  Congress,  first  in  the  Senate,  and  later  in  the 
House  of  Representatives.  Only  one  of  the  eight  present  in 
that  meeting  survives,  the  Hon.  Henry  L.  Moss,  wThom  we  are 
happy  to  hear  answer  to  the  call  of  his  name  at  each  monthly 
council  meeting  of  the  Society,  and  who  is  the  chairman  of  the 
committee  in  charge  of  the  organization  and  conduct  of  this 
semi-centennial  celebration. 

Judge  David  Cooper,  who  had  been  namled  as  one  of  the 
incorporators,  presided  over  the  meeting.  A  report  of  the 
committee  on  a  constitution  and  by-laws  was  called  for,  and 
was  made  nominally  by  Mr.  Babcock  as  chairman,  and  was 
read  by  the  secretary.  This  required  discussion  and  amend- 
ment; and,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Wilkinson,  the  constitution  and 
by-laws  were  taken  up  article  by  article,  amended,  and 
adopted. 

To  this  constitution  and  the  by-laws  were  appended  the 
names  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  persons  as  resident 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  5^3 

members,  embracing  nearly  every  white  man  in  the  Territory, 
who  by  article  tenth  of  the  by-laws  were  expected  to  pay  the 
initiation  fee  of  one  dollar  and  sign  the  constitution'  before 
participating  in  the  business  of  the  society.  The  list  contains 
the  names  of  a  few  who  came  somewhat  later  than  January, 
1850,  my  own  name  being  one  of  these. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society  was 
its  second  annual  meeting,  held  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  on  January  13th,  1851.  It  was  presided  over  by  the 
president  of  the  society,  Governor  Ramsey,  assisted  by  the 
vice  presidents,  Hon.  David  Olmsted  and  Martin  McLeod.  On 
this  occasion  the  president  delivered  an  address;  and  Hon. 
Martin  McLeod  read  an  interesting  letter  from  the  Rev.  S.  R. 
Riggs,  the  subject  of  which  was  "The  Destiny  of  the  Indian 
Tribes."  This  letter  included  a  brief  and  modest  notice  of  the 
work  of  the  author  in  compiling  a  dictionary  of  the  Dakota 
language.  Mr.  George  L.  Becker  also  read  a  paper,  contrib- 
uted by  Henry  R.  Schoolcraft,  LL.  D.,  on  the  "History  and 
Physical  Geography  of  Minnesota." 

Subsequently,  at  an  adjourned  meeting  held  on  January 
29th,  with  Governor  Ramsey  presiding,  the  society  adopted 
a  resolution  pledging  its  'aid  for  the  publication  of  a  "Dakota 
Lexicon,"  compiled  by  Rev.  Mr.  Riggs  and  his  associates  of 
the  Dakota  Mission.  A  committee  of  twenty-one  members  was 
appointed  to  procure  subscriptions  for  this  purpose.  In  June, 
18523  this  work,  comprising  a  grammar  and  dictionary  of  the 
Dakota  (or  Sioux)  language,  was  published  by  the  Smithson- 
ian Institution,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Historical  Society 
of  Minnesota.  It  forms  a  quarto  volume  of  338  pages,  being 
the  fourth  volume  in  the  series  of  Smithsonian  Contributions 
to  Knowledge. 

This  unique  publication,  and  its  distribution  among  col- 
leges, libraries,  and  historical  societies,  gave  rise  to  much  fa- 
vorable comment  and  expressions  of  admiration  for  a  state  in 
embryo  whose  people  had  taken  such  timely  action  in  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  unwritten  language  of  a  nation  of  aborigines, 
who  must  necessarily  disappear  or  be  absorbed  by  the  English- 
speaking  white  race.  It  was  also  the  means  of  securing  many 
and  valuable  exchanges  and  donations  of  books  for  our  library. 


564  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

From  that  second  annual  meeting  may  be  dated  the  active 
virile  existence  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  whose 
birth  and  nursing  care  up  to  this  time  had  been  the  one  nota^ 
ble,  commendable  public  work  of  Charles  Kilgore  Smith.  He 
became  very  unpopular  and  objectionable  to  the  people  of  Min- 
nesota; and  complaints  sent  to  Washington,  demanding  his 
removal,  became  so  frequent  and  earnest  that  his  sponsor, 
Secretary  Thomas  Corwin,  a  relative  by  marriage,  advised 
his  resignation.  He  left  the  Territory  some  time  during  the 
season  of  navigation  in  1851. 

The  Executive  Council  of  the  Historical  Society  filled  the 
vacancy  in  the  office  of  secretary  resulting  from  Mr.  Smith's 
departure  by  the  election  of  the  Rev.  Edward  D.  Neil],  No- 
vember 18th,  1851.  No  better  appointment  than  this  could 
have  been  made.  The  business  of  the  society  was  now  en- 
trusted to  a  man  who  graduated  from  Amherst  College  before 
he  was  nineteen  years  old,  was  the  next  year  a  student  in  An- 
dover  Theological  Seminary,  and  then  completed  his  studies 
in  theology  with  that  eminent  master  and  scholar,  the  Rev. 
Albert  Barnes.  Mr.  Neill  was  an  enthusiastic,  tireless  stu- 
dent of  history,  who  mined  to  the  bottom  for  facts;  and  facts 
only,  as  he  understood  them,  would  satisfy  his  truth-loving 
nature.  He  entered  upon  his  duties  as  secretary,  and  prose- 
cuted his  work  for  the  society  during  twelve  years  as  a  labor 
of  love  and  not  of  profit.  His  contributions  to  the  publica- 
tions of  the  society  commenced  with  the  first  address  in  the 
Methodist  church  on  New  Year's  day,  1850,  and  continued  with 
more  or  less  frequency  throughout  his  service  as  secretary; 
and  even  to  the  very  day  of  his  sudden  and  lamented  death, 
in  1893,  he  constantly  had  in  contemplation  some  interesting 
topic  for  the  Historical  Society  records. 

.  To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Neill  this  society  is  chiefly  indebted  for 
the  high  position  it  attained  in  the  favorable  estimate  of  schol- 
ars during  his  secretaryship,  for  the  great  increase  of  its  libra- 
ry and  museum,  and  for  its  growing  popularity  with  the  in- 
telligent reading  members  of  our  legislatures  and  with  schol- 
ars everywhere.  Amid  all  the  varied  duties  of  his  life,  as  or- 
ganizer of  churches,  schools,  and  colleges,  superintendent  of 
education  for  the  Territory  and  State,  chaplain  of  the  immor- 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  565 

tal  heroes  of  the  First  Minnesota  Regiment  in  the  Virginia 
campaign,  secretary  to  Presidents  Lincoln  and  Johnson,  con- 
sul in  Ireland,  and  professor  in  Macalester  College,  whatever 
time  was  not  occupied  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties 
of  his  position,  he  gave  to  historical  studies  and  publications, 
which,  continuing  through  more  than  forty  years,  contributed 
greatly  to  the  honor  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society. 

Among  the  early  and  zealous  friends  of  our  society,  to 
whom  much  praise  is  due,  was  another  immigrant  from  Ohio, 
Daniel  A.  Robertson,  who  was  the  editor  of  a  Democratic  paper 
in  Territorial  days.  He  deplored  the  impecunious  condition  of 
our  society,  whose  meetings  were  held  at  the  offices  or  rooms  of 
the  members,  and  whose  freight  bills  and  postage  expenses 
were  matters  of  personal  solicitation.  Resolutely  he  set  about 
the  task  of  collecting  money  to  purchase  lots  and  erect  thereon 
a  suitable  fireproof  building,  in  which  to  preserve  our  valu- 
able accumulations  that  were  then  stored,  on  sufferance,  wher- 
ever rents  were  not  demanded.  Mr.  Robertson  joined  with 
him  other  prominent  citizens,  and  made  earnest  and  persistent 
application  for  a  room  in  the  capitol,  which  was  finally  grant- 
ed for  temporary  use.  November  27th,  1855,  the  society  met 
for  the  first  time  therein.  We  were  extremely  gratified  to  see 
our  books  arranged  on  shelves,  and  the  donations  of  various 
kinds  properly  displayed,  even  though  it  was  but  a  temporary 
shelter  enjoyed  at  the  will  of  state  officials. 

Mr.  Robertson  vigorously  pushed  his  scheme  for  raising 
money  from  the  sale  of  life  memberships.  At  the  annual  meet- 
ing on  January  15th,  1856,  he  reported  the  sale  of  sixty-two 
life  memberships  at  twenty-five  dollars  each,  and  was  au- 
thorized to  close  a  conditional  purchase  he  had:  made  of  two 
lots  on  Wabasha  street.  Here  it  was  determined  to  excavate 
and  lay  the  foundation  for  the  proposed  building. 

Ry  means  of  a  grand  parade  and  ceremony  in  laying  the 
corner  stone,  it  was  expected  that  favorable  attention  would 
be  drawn  to  the  building  proposition,  that  life  memberships 
would  sell  freely,  that  citizens  would  make  liberal  subscrip- 
tions, and  that  the  legislature  would  contribute  what  might 
be  lacking.  The  laying  of  the  corner  stone  June  24th,  1856, 
was  the  occasion  of  the  most  notable  procession  and  public 


556  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

display  that  had  ever  occurred  in  Minnesota,  The  military 
authorities  at  Fort.Snelling  sent  their  full  band.  Major  Sher- 
man and  his  battery  (not  W.  T.  Sherman,  afterward  General, 
but  Thomas  W.  Sherman,  who  had  won  fame  in  Mexico  with 
his  "Flying  Artillery")  headed  the  procession,  which  marched 
through  the  streets  and  to  the  foundation,  where  the  corner 
stone  was  to  be  laid. 

Hon.  George  L.  Becker,  who  was  mayor  of  St.  Paul  at  that 
time,  being  then  as  now  an  honored  citizen  of  Minnesota,  de- 
livered an  address.  Lieut.  M.  F.  Maury,  of  the  United  States 
Navy,  who  had  already  distinguished  himself  and  honored  his 
country  by  his  original  scientific  work  in  charting  ocean  cur- 
rents and  making  routes  for  the  safer  and  more  speedy  navi- 
gation of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  also  gave  an  address.  The  cor- 
ner stone  was  laid  with  Masonic  ceremonies;  and  there,  I 
trust,  it  remains  safe,  with  its  contents  undisturbed,  up  to  this 
day. 

The  financial  storm  of  1857  was  approaching,  and  life  mem- 
berships were  unsalable;  conditional  subscriptions  stopped  at 
|15,000,  some  were  withdrawn,  and  others  were  expected  to 
be  withdrawn;  and  the  legislature  declined  to  make  any  ap- 
propriation for  the  building.  Col.  Eobertson,  discouraged  and 
beaten,  went  to  Europe  for  a  year's  rest  and  recreation. 

The  room  at  the  capitol  occupied  by  our  society  was  de- 
manded for  the  use  of  the  state  auditor,  and  the  Executive 
Council  rented  a  small  room  adjoining  the  St.  Paul  Library 
room  in  the  Ingersoll  Block,  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Third 
and  Wabasha  streets.  This  was  the  humble  home  of  the  so- 
ciety during  the  incumbency  of  Mr.  Charles  E.  Mayo  as  secre- 
tary, from  1864  to  1867,  a  period  in  which  the  unsettled  con- 
dition of  public  affairs  prevented  any  considerable  growth. 

On  the  21st  of  January,  1867,  John  Fletcher  Williams  was 
elected  secretary.  He  served  in  that  capacity  faithfully  and 
efficiently  until  his  resignation  in  1893,  a  period  of  twenty-six 
years,  during  which  time  there  was  a  constant  and  increasing 
interest  exhibited  by  the  people  of  the  state  and  by  the  suc- 
cessive state  legislatures.  The  society  was  recognized  as  a 
state  institution  by  appropriations  of  money  that  enabled  its 
officers  to  largely  extend  its  usefulness,  and  to  increase  ma- 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  5@7 

terially  its  valuable  library  of  books  and  newspapers.  Not- 
withstanding the  impairment  of  its  property  by  the  fire  that 
on  March  1st,  1881,  destroyed  the  old  capitol,  in  which  were 
its  library  and  museum,  the  society  has  experienced  a  con- 
stant and  healthy  growth,  under  different  secretaries,  up  to  the 
present  day.  Now,  under  the  present  careful  and  efficient 
management,  it  is  in  the  front  rank  with  any  similar  institu- 
tion of  the  same  age  in  any  state  or  country. 

I  have  passed  lightly  over  the  more  recent  growth  of  the 
society,  for  it  would  require  an  extension  of  the  time  allotted 
to  me  for  the  presentation  of  this  subject.  To  realize  that 
our  growth  has  been  phenomenal  for  the  half  century,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  enumerate  the  number  and  consider  the 
value  of  the  publications  of  the  society,  and  the  catalogue  of 
its  library,  which  now  contains  a  grand  total  of  63,500  vol- 
umes, bound  and  unbound;  and  to  note  that  our  unique  and 
most  valuable  collection  of  Minnesota  newspapers  commences 
with  the  first  number  of  the  first  paper  published  in  Minne- 
sota Territory  in:  the  year  1849,  and  continues  down  to  the 
present  day.  The  library  is  now  receiving  regularly  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty-one  daily,  weekly  and  monthly  newspapers 
of  Minnesota,  which  are  bound  when  volumes  are  completed, 
and  are  carefully  preserved  in  a  fireproof  room. 

These  daily  and  weekly  newspapers  and  periodicals  af- 
ford the  truest,  the  fullest,  the  most  impartial  image  of  the 
age  we  live  in,  that  can  be  derived  from  any  single  source; 
and  (this  collection  is  recognized  as  invaluable  for  reference 
by  students  of  history  and  of  politics,  by  lawyers  and  search- 
ers for  titles  of  real  estate  in  all  parts  of  Minnesota,  and  for 
many  other  matters  of  record  nowhere  else  obtainable.  Con- 
stant use  is  made  of  these  files,  by  personal  inspection,  by  all 
classes  of  citizens,  who  often  come  to  the  library  for  this  pur- 
pose from  distant  parts  of  the  state. 

The  young  men  who  met  just  fifty  years  ago,  on  November 
15th,  1849,  for  the  organization  of  the  Minnesota  Historical 
Society,  and  on  January  14th,  1850,  to  discuss  and  adopt  its 
constitution  and  by-laws,  in  the  little  room  of  the  log  tavern, 
were  there  at  the  solicitation  of  Secretary  Smith,  who  was 
pushing  a  fad,  for  which  presumably  none  of  his  associate  in- 


568  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

corporators  of  the  society  had  much  if  any  sympathy.  They, 
like  others,  were  absorbed  in  the  strife  for  the  human  necessi- 
ties of  food  and  clothing,  and  in  the  endeavor  to  acquire  a 
competency,  if  not  wealth,  thrqugh  the  opportunities  offering 
in  a  newly  settled  country.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  one  of 
them,  not  even  our  worthy  chairman  of  the  committee  having 
this  celebration  in  charge,  ever  imagined  he  might  live  to  see 
that  society  an  honored  institution  of  the  state,  with  a  library 
of  between  sixty  and  seventy  thousand  volumes,  referred  to 
by  persons  from  every  county  in  the  state,  while  the  work  of 
the  society  in  gathering  and  publishing  the  history  of  Min- 
nesota and  of  the  Northwest  is  known  and  highly  esteemed 
throughout  the  civilized  world. 

As  those  of  us  pioneers  who  survive  to  celebrate  this  half 
century  of  existence  and  growth  of  our  society  contemplate 
the  result  of  our  seemingly  fortuitous  action,  we  now  see  the 
fact  that,  while  we  were  mostly  absorbed  in  the  development 
of  our  heritage,  in  the  conquest  of  this  portion  of  our  peerless 
continent,  by  the  plowing,  the  planting,  the  harvesting,  trad- 
ing, and  building  towns  and  cities,  we  did  .not  recognize,  as 
we  might  have  done,  the  invincible  spirit  of  human  progress 
which  was  then  as  now  the  directing  power  that  suggested 
action.  In  our  forecast  of  the  possibilities  of  the  next  fifty 
years,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  this  is  the  electric  age,  and 
that  our  society  is  a  component  part  of  the  model  state  of  the 
world,  the  State  of  Minnesota.  All  things  attainable  by  any 
people  are  also  possible  to  the  people  of  Minnesota  and  to  this 
Historical  Society. 


THE  LIBRARY,  MUSEUM,  AND  PORTRAIT  COLLECTION 

OF  THE  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


BY  NATHANIEL  PITT  LANG-FOIID. 


In  the  legislative  act  incorporating  this  society,  approved 
t»y  Governor  Ramsey  October  20th,  1849,  nearly  four  weeks 
before  the  first  meeting  and  organization  of  this  society,  its 
object  was  stated  to  be  "the  collection  and  preservation  of  a 
library,  mineralogical  and  geological  specimens,  Indian  curi- 
osities, and  other  matters  and  things  connected  with,  and  cal- 
culated to  illustrate  and  perpetuate  the  history  and  settle- 
ment of  said  Territory." 

Wider  scope  of  the  society's  duties  to  the  Territory  was  de- 
clared in  an  additional  act  passed  somewhat  more  than  six 
years  later,  as  approved  March  1st,  1856,  of  which  the  third 
section  says:  "The  objects  of  said  society,  with  the  enlarged 
powers  and  duties  herein  provided,  shall  be,  in  addition  to 
the  collection  and  preservation  of  publications,  manuscripts, 
antiquities,  curiosities,  and  all  other  things  pertaining  to  the 
social,  political  and  natural  history  of  Minnesota,  to  cultivate 
among  the  citizens  thereof  a  knowledge  of  the  useful  and  lib- 
eral arts,  science,  and  literature."  In  view  of  this  exceedingly 
generous  definition  of  its  fields  of  labor,  this  society  may  well 
affirm,  as  did  the  Apostle  Paul,  "All  things  are  lawful  unto 
me,  but  all  things  are  not  expedient." 

The  work  of  the  society  in  accumulating  material  posses- 
sions has  been  limited,  first,  to  its  large  and  very  valuable 
library,  open  from  half-past  eight  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  until 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  as  a  public  and  free  reference 
library;  second,  the  collection  of  a  museum  of  historical  rel- 
ics, illustrative  of  the  conditions  of  the  pioneer  settlement  of 


570  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Minnesota,  of  the  Sioux  war,  and  the  civil  war,  of  the  ab- 
original people  who  built  the  thousands  of  prehistoric  mounds 
in  this  state,  and  of  the  Sioux  (or  Dakotas)  and  the  O  jib  ways 
who  were  living  here  when  the  first  white  men  reached  this 
region;  and,  third,  its  collection  of  portraits  of  pioneers  and 
other  prominent  citizens  of  this  state,  with  other  portraits, 
pictures  and  framed  documents,  illustrating  the  history  of 
Minnesota,  of  the  wholf  Northwest,  and  indeed  of  the  whole 
United  States. 

THE  LIBRARY. 

in  cue  few  minutes  allotted  to  me  for  these  remarks  I  will 
speak  first  and  chiefly  of  the  historical  treasury  which  the  so- 
ciety has  gradually  provided  for  itself  and  for  all  the  people 
of  Minnesota,  in  its  carefully  selected  library,  now  number- 
ing about  68,500  titles  of  books  and  pamphlets.  While  the 
aim  of  the  society  has  constantly  been  to  gather  and  preserve 
all  publications  issued  in  Minnesota,  and  all  relating  to  Min- 
nesota, wherever  they  may  be  published,  we  have  also  given 
great  attention  to  the  collection  of  everything  published  con- 
cerning local  history,  as  of  townships,  in  all  the  older  states, 
as  also  in  the  new  states  of  the  West  and  of  the  Pacific  coast. 

What  immigrant  from  any  eastern  part  of  our  country,  or 
son  or  daughter  of  such  immigrant,  does  not  still  feel  an  in- 
terest in  the  old  home  and  hearthstone,  the  old  township  of 
their  nativity,  or  the  homes  where  lived  fifty  years  ago  the 
fathers  and  mothers  of  the  present  generation?-  Many  who 
came  here  in  the  early  times,  and  have  endured  hardships 
and  won  success  in  building  up  this  great  Commonwealth, 
now,  in  the  well-earned  leisure  of  declining  years,  go  back  in 
memory  to  the  old  township  of  their  childhood  in  the  Granite 
State,  it  may  be,  or  the  Bay  State,  or  the  Keystone  State, 
which,  with  all  the  other  states  east  of  us  contributed  largely 
to  the  building  up  of  Minnesota. 

This  society's  library  contains  many  volumes,  mostly  no- 
where else  to  be  found  in  this  state,  concerning  the  detailed 
local  history  of  all  those  older  parent  states.  To  particular- 
ize and  give  more  definite  expression  of  the  richness  of  the 
library  in  this  department  of  American  township  histories, 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  57 £ 

it  may  be  noted  that,  according  to  the  librarian's  inventory 
made  two  months  ago,  our  number  of  bound  volumes  of  town- 
ship and  strictly  local  histories  was  90  for  Maine,  100  for  New 
Hampshire,  35  for  Vermont,  460  for  Massachusetts,  which  is 
richer  in  these  histories  than  any  other  state,  40  for  Rhode 
Island,  and  100  for  Connecticut;  besides  many  for  New  York 
and  all  the  states  reaching  thence  southward  and  westward. 

Our  collection  strictly  relating  to  Minnesota,  however,  far 
exceeds  that  here  gathered  for  any  other  state,  if  we  include 
the  narrations  of  explorers,  visitors,  and  the  many  observant 
travelers  who  have  written  about  us,  and  the  books  issued 
from  our  territorial  and  state  government,  as  the  journals  and 
laws  of  the  legislature,  reports  and  proceedings  of  the  de- 
partments of  state  executive  affairs,  and  similar  publications 
of  our  universities,  colleges,  commercial,  charitable,  and  re- 
ligious institutions.  All  these  books  describing  Minnesota,  her 
people,  their  work  and  their  history,  number  about  1,075  vol- 
umes, besides  about  1,500  pamphlets  in  this  department.  To 
every  one  who  wishes  to  know  with  accuracy  any  part  of  our 
state  history,  its  resources,  what  it  promises  to  any  contem- 
plated new  industry  or  investment,  we  would  say,  Come  to 
this  society's  library,  ask  for  its  information  on  the  subject, 
and  you  will  understand  the  utility  of  this  storehouse  of 
knowledge. 

These  Minnesota  books  'and  pamphlets,  although  of  ines- 
timable value,  are  yet  very  far  surpassed,  in  respect  to  num- 
bers, magnitude  and  historical  importance,  by  this  society's 
great  department  of  Minnesota  newspapers.  Our  earliest  news- 
paper issue  for'  this  state  was  the  first  number  of  the  Minnesota 
Pioneer  (which  has  now7  become  the  Pioneer  Press  of  'St.  Paul), 
published  by  James  M.  Goodhue  on  the  28th  of  April,  1849,  a 
few  weeks  previous  to  the  establishment  of  the  government  of 
Minnesota  as  a  Territory.  A  complete  series  of  that  newspaper,. 
and  of  nearly  all  others  published  in  Minnesota  during  the 
past  fifty  years,  has  been  collected  and  preserved  by  our  so- 
ciety. We  are  now  receiving,  by  donation  from  the  editors 
and  publishers,  421  newspapers  of  this  state,  daily,  weekly  and 
monthly.  They  are  preserved  with  the  greatest  care  and  are 
bound  in  ponderous  volumes,  the  yearly  increase  of  this  depart- 


572  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

inent  being  about  300  bound  volumes.  Their  number  on  Sep- 
tember 1st  of  this  year  was  4,250  volumes.  They  are  a  priceless 
treasury  of  materials  for  future  historians,  being  in  fact  a 
detailed  history  of  the  development  of  the  state,  of  all  its 
counties  and  of  its  separate  townships,  from  their  beginning 
to  the  present  time.  This  newspaper  collection  is  kept  in  an 
extensive  fireproof  vault,  which  is  a  part  of  the  society's  rooms 
in  this  building.  It  is  accessible  to  all  who  wish  to  consult  it, 
and  it  is  so  arranged  that  any  paper  of  any  date  can  be  readily 
found. 

There  are  also  other  departments  of  the  library  which  are 
of  great  interest  to  our  people,  and  which  are  daily  consulted 
by  many  readers.  The  growth  of  our  patriotic  societies  has 
brought  increased  attention  to  histories  of  the  Colonial  and 
Revolutionary  times  preceding  and  beginning  our  national  ex- 
istence, with  inquiries  for  records  of  ancestry,  in  the  hope  of 
tracing  descent  from  soldiers  of  the  Colonial  wars  and  of  the 
American  Revolution.  To  all  desiring  to  make  any  research 
of  this  kind,  the  very  comprehensive  department  of  American 
Genealogy,  represented  in  this  library  by  more  than  1,100 
bound  volumes,  and  about  450  pamphlets,  affords  very  ample 
resources  of  information,  equalled  only  by  three  or  four  other 
libraries  in  the  whole  United  States. 

Another  and  much  larger  part  of  the  library  consists  of 
the  publications  of  the  general  government,  such  as  the  Con- 
gressional Record,  and  the  reports  of  the  many  departments 
and  bureaus  of  the  Federal  service,  among  which  those  of 
the  United  States  Patent  Office  are  perhaps  the  most  fre- 
quently consulted.  All  the  books,  pamphlets,  and  maps  issued 
by  our  national  government  are  received  gratuitously,  this  be- 
ing a  designated  depository  library. 

THE  MUSEUM. 

One  of  the  parts  of  the  society's  proper  work  which  has 
received  little  consideration,  is  its  museum.  The  needs  of  the 
library  forbid  the  use  of  space  in  the  present  rooms  to  display 
a  great  portion  of  our  museum  collection,  that  which  presents 
the  work  of  the  aboriginal  people  of  Minnesota,  the  builders  of 
the  mounds,  and  the  Indians  of  more  recent  times  who  have 
been  displaced  during  this  half  century.     The  society  is  in- 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  573; 

debted  to  one  of  its  life  members,  Hon.  J.  V.  Brower,  whose 
report  upon  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  river  forms  the  sev- 
enth volume  of  the  society's  publications,  for  gifts  of  many 
thousand  stone  and  copper  implements  and  other  products  of 
aboriginal  handiwork,  which  will  form  a  most  instructive  ex- 
hibit of  our  museum  when  the  society  shall  remove  to  the 
ampler  rooms  assigned  for  it  in  the  new  Capitol.  We  are  as- 
sured by  the  most  learned  archaeologists  of  America,  who  have 
examined  some  of  these  relics,  that  they  were  buried  in  the 
mounds  where  they  were  found  long  before  the  Christian  era. 

PORTRAITS. 

But  I  must  hasten  to  add  a  few  words  concerning  the  so- 
ciety's collection  of  portraits.  A  hundred  and;  twenty  por- 
traits are  now  displayed  in  the  rooms  of  the  society,  besides 
twenty  group  pictures  which  comprise  788  portraits.  Nearly 
all  these  are  of  pioneers  and  founders  of  Minnesota,  or  of  citi- 
zens who  in  more  recent  years  have  had  a  prominent  part  in 
the  history  and  development  of  the  state.  There  are  also 
many  other  pictures,  as  of  ancient  buildings,  monuments, 
paintings  of  historic  scenes,  etc.,  and  many  framed  documents, 
including  a  letter  of  George  Washington,  written  in  1754, 
which  is  in  the  case  holding  the  Washington  chair.  This  col- 
lection is  the  most  interesting  and  attractive  part  of  the  so- 
ciety's possessions  for  visitors  who  have  only  a  short  time  to 
spend  in  our  rooms. 

Sitting  in  the  monthly  meetings  of  the  Executive  Council 
of  this  society,  I  have  often  thought  of  the  great  work  done 
by  the  founders  and  leaders  of  Minnesota,  whose  portraits 
look  forth  from  the  walls  of  our  assembly  room.  Observing 
the  earnest,  resolute  expression  of  those  faces,  I  recall  what 
Horatio  Seymour  said  to  me  in  our  native  state  of  New  York, 
nearly  fifty  years  ago:  "It  is  work,  with  its  reward  or  fail- 
ure,—the  experience  of  life,— which  is  expressed  by  faces  and 
portraits,  rather  than  the  deep  inherent  character  received 
from  ancestry." 

INCREASE  OP  THESE  COLLECTIONS. 

The  present  space  occupied  by  the  library,  portrait  collec- 
tion, and  museum,  is  quite  inadequate.  Each  of  these  fruits 
of  the  society's  work  tends  to  grow,  and  they  have  outgrown 


574  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  limits  which  seemed  very  liberal  when  the  present  rooms 
began  to  be  occupied  sixteen  years  ago.  The  growth  of  a  man 
continues  only  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  and  that  of  a  tree  per- 
haps half  a  century;  but  of  a  living  and  useful  library  or  mu- 
seum or  state  portrait  collection,  there  is  no  natural  bound  of 
growth.  The  duty  and  destiny  of  the  society  here  founded  and 
active,  to-day  completing  its  first  fifty  years,  imply  for  it  a 
continuance  in  the  accumulation  and  preservation  of  these  pos- 
sessions for  the  educational  and  the  moral  advancement  of 
the  people. 

The  poet  Milton  gave  expression  to  the  duty  of  preserving 
valuable  books,  when  he  wrote: 

"As  good  almost  kill  a  man,  as  kill  a  good  book.  Who  kills 
a  man,  kills  a  reasonable  creature,  God's  image;  but  he  who 
destroys  a  good  book,  kills  reason  itself,  kills  the  image  of 
God,  as  it  were,  in  the  eye.  Many  a  man  lives  a  burden  to  the 
earth;  but  a  good  book  is  the  precious  life-blood  of  a  master 
spirit  embalmed  and  treasured  up  on  purpose  to  a  life  beyond 
life.  It  is  true,  no  age  can  restore  a  life,  whereof  perhaps 
there  is  no  great  loss.  .  .  .  We  should  be  wary,  there- 
fore, what  persecutions  we  raise  against  the  living  labors  of 
public  men, — how  we  spill  that  seasoned  life  of  man  preserved 
and  stored  up  in  books; — since  we  see  a  kind  of  homicide  may 
thus  be  committed,  sometimes  a  martyrdom;  and,  if  it  extend 
to  the  whole  impression,  a.  kind  of  massacre,  whereof  the  exe- 
cution ends  not  in  the  slaying  of  an  elemental  life,  but  strikes 
at  that  ethereal  and  sift  essense,  the  breath  of  reason  itself, — 
slays  an  immortality,  rather  than  a  life." 

The  volumes  on  our  library  shelves  have  been  characterized 
by  some  writer  as  our  truest  friends,  who  are  never  applied  to 
in  vain,  who  are  never  out  when  we  knock  at  the  door,  of 
whom  the  announcement  "not  at  home''  is  never  made  when 
we  call.  They  are  friends  who  in  the  highest  as  well  as  in 
the  deepest  moods  may  be  applied  to,  and  will  never  be  found 
wanting. 

RETROSPECTION. 

If  is  time  to  bring  these  considerations  to  a  close. 
The  men  and  women  of  the  half  century  which  we  review 
to-day,  have  built  this  great  Commonwealth.     They  and  we 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  575 

shall  vanish,  but  our  work  as  citizens  of  this  state,  and  as 
members  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  will  endure,  and 
will  be  carried  forward  by  others.  Let  them  rightly  value  their 
heritage,  and  transmit  it,  increased,  to  their  successors. 

Few  of  those  who  placed  themselves  in  the  van  of  the 
movement  for  the  organization  of  this  society  have  lived  to 
witness  this  day  of  her  grandeur  and  triumph.  Tt  is  said  that, 
when  two  armies  have  joined  battle,  the  report  of  musketry 
and  cannon  shot  does  not  fall  on  the  listening  ear  with  regular- 
ity, but  at  intervals,  now  perhaps  with  a  steady  roar,  and  now . 
in  groups  of  sharp  explosions,  and  then  again  in  single  scat- 
tered shots  along  the  field,  and  then,  after  a  long  interval,  and 
when  there  seemed  a  flag  of  truce  hung  out,  startling  us  with 
a  succession  of  quick  reports,  and  strewing  the  ground  with 
the  slain.  This  is  the  way  our  own  ranks  have  been  thinned, 
sometimes  in  single  scattered  strokes ;  but  we  can  see  that  the 
fight  with  the  Great  Conqueror  has  lately  grown  warm  on  this 
part  of  the  field,  when  we  number  those  of  our  members  who 
within  the  last  half  of  this  decade  have  gone  from  us.  But  a 
time  should  never  come,  in  the  history  of  Minnesota,  when  the 
memory  of  those  who,  in  the  beginning,  as  in  the  later  years, 
laid  deep  and  broad  the  foundations  of  this  society,  should 
cease  to  be  venerated.  And  as  we  crown  the  graves  of  the 
dead  with  flowers,  let  the  pathway  of  the  living  be  brightened 
bj  the  rewards  of  a  grateful  people. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  PERSONS  AND  EVENTS  IN  THE 
HISTORY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


BY  BISHOP  HENRY  B,  WHIPPLE. 


Mr.  President,  Members  of  the  Historical  Society,  Ladies 
and  Gentlemen:  I  preface  my  address  by  saying  that  I  have 
an  abiding  faith  in  the  Providence  of  God.  Since  the  day  when 
Bishop  Stephen  Langton,  at  the  head  of  the  nobles  of  England, 
wrung  from  King  John  the  Magna  Charta,  the  English-speak- 
ing race  has  stood  for  constitutional  government.  And  this 
r^ce,  made  up  of  the  best  blood  of  the  northern  races  of  Eu- 
rope, represents  loyalty  to  government  and  the  rights  of  the 
individual.  One  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  men  speak  the 
English  language,  and  one-third  of  the  population  of  the  world 
are  under  English-speaking  governments.  This  loyalty  is  the 
characteristic  of  the  people  of  the  North  Star  State. 

The  development  of  the  West  in  the  last  sixty  years  is  a 
marvel.  In  my  boyhood,  after  the  journey  by  stage-coach  from 
Syracuse  to  Cleveland,  I  remember  standing  on  the  wharf  in 
Cleveland  and  watching  the  vessels  as  they  were  loaded  with 
flour  and  pork  for  the  border  settlers  on  lake  Michigan.  In 
1844  I  travelled  from  Cincinnati  to  Cumberland,  Maryland,  by 
stage-coach.  The  people  of  the  East  were  prejudiced  against 
the  West,  as  the  home  of  chills  and  fever  and  other  kindred 
diseases.  Minnesota  was  a  terra  incognita,  and  the  school 
maps  showed  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  as  the  outpost  of  civili- 
zation. 

My  friend,  Mr.  Trowbridge  of  Detroit,  who  came  in  1820 
as  a  clerk  to  Governor  Cass  of  the  same  city,  copied  the  first 
United  States  census  of  the  west,  which  included  all  trading 
posts  as  far  as  the  Koeky  mountains.       There  were  nine  thou- 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  577 

sand  eight  hundred  and  seventy  souls.  There  were  three  white 
citizens  in  Chicago,  Dr.  Westcott,  physician  to  the  Indians, 
Beaubien,  a  fiddler,  and  John  Kinzie,  an  Indian  trader.  Gen- 
eral Sibley,  when  a  boy,  was  clerk  for  the  Northwest  Fur  Com- 
pany, and  it  was  his  duty  to  go  for  the  mail  which  was  brought 
to  Detroit  once  a  week  on  horseback. 

When  Minnesota  was  admitted  to  the  Union,  Congress  gen- 
erously gave  two  sections  of  land  in  each  township  for  school 
purposes,  the  reason  being  that  Minnesota  was  so  remote  from 
civilization  that  it  would  be  generations  before  it  was  settled. 
I  visited  Minnesota  in  1853,  and  well  remember  the  shout  of 
laughter  from  my  fellow  travellers  on  the  steamboat,  as  they 
saw  among  some  scattered  houses  at  Winona,  a  shanty  bearing 
the  sign,  "Bank."  St.  Paul  and  St.  Anthony  were  then  flour- 
ishing villages.  A  friend  who  had  come  to  Minnesota  in  1844, 
and  who  had  a  small  interest  in  the  townsite  of  Minneapolis, 
said  afterward  to  me,  "I  was  sure  that  it  could  never  be  a  town. 
I  had  received  for  my  share  the  lots  on  which  the  Nicollet 
Block  stands.  I  traded  them  for  a  pair  of  horses  which  I  sold 
for  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and,  feeling  sure  of  the  loca- 
tion of  the  future  city  of  the  Northwest,  I  invested  it  at  Point 
Douglas."    He  added,  with  a  smile,  "I  have  it  today." 

As  we  were  coming  up  the  Mississippi  on  one  occasion,  a 
passenger,  who  spoke  disparagingly  of  the  West,  was  asked 
by  a  borderman,  where  he  was  from.  "From  Vermont,"  was 
the  answer.  "I  am  from  Vermont,"  said  the  first  speaker.  "I 
know  Vermont  and  I  know  Minnesota.  My  father  had  three 
sons,  and  two  of  us  came  to  Minnesota.  Last  year  I  went  home 
to  the  old  farm,  and  in  the  morning  I  went  out  to  look  at 
the  fields.  When  I  came  in,  I  said  to  my  brother,  'How  are  you 
getting  on,  John?'  'O,'  ^e  answered,  'we  manage  to  get  a  liv- 
ing, and  that  is  about  all/  'Why,  John/  I  said,  'I  don't  wonder 
that  you  are  poor.  If  I  had  a  man  in  my  employ  who  would 
reap  a  field  of  oats  and  leave  as  much  standing  as  there  is  in 
that  field  yonder,  I  would  discharge  him  at  once/  'Why,  Bill,' 
exclaimed  my  brother,  'that's  the  crop!' " 

In  1859  I  was  elected  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Min- 
nesota. The  State  was  then  beginning  to  feel  the  tide  of  its 
incoming  population,  and  the  east  had  begun  to  give  ear  to  the 
rumor  of  a  western  state  free  from  malaria,  with  fertile  soil, 

37 


578  MINNESOTA  'HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

good  water,  and  abundant  forests.  It  brought  to  us  an  intelli- 
gent population,  many  having  been  drawn  hither  in  quest  of 
health. 

I  doubt  if  any  state  in  the  Union  has  had  a  better  class  of 
pioneers  to  lay  its  foundations.  They  were  honest,  industrious, 
courageous,  and  hospitable.  I  have  no  memories  dearer  than 
those  of  the  warm-hearted  welcomes  of  those  early  settlers. 

When  I  was  in  England  in  1864,  where  there  was  much 
prejudice  against  the  North,  on  account  of  the  Civil  War,  one 
of  the  Fellows  of  Oxford,  at  a  dinner  given  in  my  honor,  spoke 
warmly  of  the  South,  and  said:  "I  have  been  told  that  there 
is  very  little  culture  in  the  North,  and  that  gentlemen  are  to 
be  found  only  in  the  South.  I  have  heard  that  it  is  not  an 
uncommon  thing  in  the  West  for  two  men  to  occupy  the  same 
bed."  Then  turning  to  me,  he  asked  if  it  were  true.  I  an- 
swered, with  a  smile,  "It  is  quite  true.  I  have  thirty  clergy  in 
my  diocese,  and  I  have  slept  with  eighteen  of  them."  The 
guests  looked  incredulous,  and  I  continued:  "Gentlemen,  my 
diocese  is  as  large  as  England,  Scotland,  and  Wales.  I  drive 
three  thousand  miles  a  year  over  the  prairies.  On  a  winter 
night,  with  the  thermometer  below  zero,  I  come  to  a  log  house 
containing  one  room.  I  receive  a  hospitable  welcome.  When 
bedtime  comes,  a  sheet  is  fastened  across  one  end  of  the  room, 
an  impromptu  resting  place  is  made  on  the  floor  for  the  family, 
and  the  only  bed  is  given  to  me.  Since  having  been  lost  on 
the  prairie  in  a  blizzard,  I  have  often  taken  one  of  my  clergy 
with  me  on  my  journeys.  Will  you  tell  me  what  I  shall  do? 
Shall  I  share  my  bed  with  my  brother,  or  shall  I  turn  him  out 
in  the  howling  storm  to  freeze  to  death?  Even  English  hos- 
pitality cannot  exceed  that  of  the  frontier  settler."  The  look 
of  surprise  gave  way  to  hearty  cheers. 

The  spirit  of  pioneer  kindliness  was  everywhere,  and  to 
none  am  I  more  indebted  than  to  the  drivers  of  the  Merriam, 
Blakeley  and  Burbank  Stage  Company.  Whenever  I  drove  up 
to  an  inn,  some  one  of  the  cheery  voices  would  cry  out,  "Bishop, 
I  know  just  what  old  Bashaw  wants.  Go  right  in,  and  I  will 
give  him  the  best  of  care!"  I  would  as  quickly  have  offered  a 
gratuity  to  my  dearest  friend  as  to  one  of  those  generous  souls. 

Time  would  fail  me  to  tell  the  story  of  the  brave  lives  of 
sojne  of  those  frontier  men  who  gave  me  their  love, — men  like 
Peter  Robert,  the  Indian  trader,  who,  when  asked  if  he  knew 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  579 

Bishop  Whipple,  answered,  "Yes,  he's  a  sky  pilot,  and  always 
straight!" 

The  early  history  of  the  State  was  marked  by  very  great 
trials.  The  attempt  to  build  our  first  railways  and  its  failure 
led  to  repudiation  of  the  state  bonds.  It  gave  us  a  dishonored 
name  in  financial  circles  in  the  East,  and  deprived  us  of  that 
sympathy  and  help  which  is  so  needed  in  the  founding  of  a 
new  state.  I  have  often  blushed  when  eastern  friends  have 
asked,  "Why  has  Minnesota  repudiated  her  bonded  debt?"  But 
all  honor  to  the  brave  hearts  who  unfalteringly  labored  to  re 
move  the  stain !  i 

Then  came  the  massacre  of  1862,  which  desolated  our  en- 
tire border,  and  swept  eight  hundred  of  our  citizens  into  name- 
less graves.  In  this  brief  review  of  events  and  men  that  have 
helped  to  form*  the  history  of  the  state,  I  must  not  omit  a 
tribute  of  love  to  the  heroic  red  men  who  have  been  a  part  of 
the  flock  entrusted  co  my  care.  You  all  know  the  sad  condition 
of  our  Indian  affairs  forty  years  ago.  In  my  acquaintance  with 
,sin  and  suffering,  I  had  found  nothing  more  terrible  than  the 
degradation  and  misery  in  the  Indian  country,  much  of  which 
was  the  result  of  the  wrong  and  robbery  which  we  had  in- 
flicted on  this  hapless  race.  During  that  holocaust  of  murder 
in  August,  1862,  the  only  light  which  came  was  in  the  bravery 
of  the  Christian  and  friendly  Indians,  who,  surrounded  by 
thousands  of  their  hostile  brethren,  did  all  that  it  was  possible 
for  them  to  do  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  suffering 
captives,  and  who  rescued  two  hundred  white  women  and  chil- 
dren whom  they  delivered  to  General  Sibley.  The  names  of 
these  brave  heroes  cannot  be  too  often  repeated.  Among  them 
were  Other  Day,  Simon  Anagmani,  Paul  Mazakuta,  Lorenzo 
Lawrence,  Taopi,  Iron  Shields,  Good  Thunder,  Wakinyantawa, 
and  others.  After  the  failure  of  the  special  agent  to  report 
facts,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  asked  me  to  send  him  a  list 
of  the  Indians  who  had  shown  their  fidelity  to  the  whites 
throughout  the  massacre.  I  spent  three  weeks  in  careful  in- 
vestigation, and  submitted  my  report  to  General  Sibley  and 
Dr.  Williamson,  who  endorsed  it  To  make  assurance  doubly 
sure,  I  asked  the  Government  to  employ  Dr.  J.  W.  Daniels  to 
distribute  the  funds  appropriated,  and  to  make  further  investi- 
gations.    He  found  my  report  in  every  respect  true. 


580  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

General  Sibley  made  Good  Thunder  one  of  his  chiefs  of 
scouts,  and  I  have  several  letters  from  General  Sibley  testify- 
ing to  the  absolute  fidelity  of  Good  Thunder  throughout  the 
entire  massacre.  I  knew  him  then,  as  I  have  known  him  all 
through  these  forty  years,  as  a  hero. 

Some  years  later,  General  Custer  asked  me  to  send  him 
thirty  of  these  friendly  Indians  as  scouts,  when  he  made  the 
reconnoissance  of  the  Black  Hills.  On  their  return,  he  wrote 
me:  "I  cannot  permit  these  Indians  to  return  to  their  homes 
without  testifying  to  their  uniform  good  character.  I  do  not 
simply  say  that  they  have  been  obedient,  but  I  doubt  whether 
any  village  could  turn  out  more  exemplary  men." 

The  Government  confiscated  all  the  annuities  and  lands  of 
the  Sioux,  making  no  discrimination  in  behalf  of  those  who  had 
imperilled  their  lives  for  us.  And  to  this  hour  this  great 
wrong  has  not  been  redressed. 

A  few  years  after  the  outbreak,  came  the  plague  of  locusts, 
which  lasted  for  several  years.  One  day  the  Governor  of  the 
State  met  me  and  said:  "There  is  a  scare  in  the  southwest 
about  the  locusts,  and  as  you  are  travelling  over  that  part  of 
the  country,  will  you  send  me  the  facts  about  the  matter?" 
When  I  reached  Fairmont,  I  saw  near  the  inn  a  field  of  wheat 
four  or  five  inches  in  height,  and  a  few  hours  later  every  sign 
of  vegetation  had  disappeared.  I  swept  my  [hand  through  the 
cloud  of  locusts  and  placed  the  result  in  a  wide-mouthed  bottle 
— a  hundred  and  twenty  in  number — and  sent  it  to  the  Gover- 
nor. When  experiments  were  being  tried  in  vain  to  destroy 
the  plague,  I  stopped  one  day  at  a  house  where  I  saw  a  dis- 
tressed farmer  gazing  upon  his  half-ruined  fields,  and  asked 
if  he  had  read  in  the  Pioneer  of  a  way  in  which  the  crops  could 
be  saved.  "What  is  it?"  he  asked.  "Put  a  windrow  of  moist- 
ened hay/'  I  replied,  "on  the  windward  side  of  your  field  and 
set  fire  to  it,  and  the  smoke  will  drive  the  locusts  away."  The 
farmer  gave  a  low  whistle,  and  answered,  "Bishop,  I  tried  it, 
and  the  little  pests  came  down  to  warm  their  legs  by  my  fire." 
The  settlements  at  that  time  were  scattered,  and  very  few 
of  them  numbered  a  thousand  inhabitants.  The  farming  com- 
munities were  isolated,  and  I  often  drove  twenty  miles  without 
seeing  a  house.  My  first  service  in  Minneapolis  was  in  a  rude 
wooden  chapel,  while  in  other  parts  of  the  state  I  held  service 
in  wayside  inns,  stores,  log-houses,  and  in  the  forest. 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  5Q1 

Nothing  added  more  to  the  promise  of  the  new  state  than 
the  high  character  of  its  professional  men.  Wherever  the  men 
of  the  legal  profession  are  men  of  high  character,  there  will  be 
found  in  the  community  a  nice  sense  of  commercial  honor;  and 
wherever  there  is  the  reverse,  trickery  and  fraud  will  follow.  I 
could  call  over  a  long  roll  of  the  legal  profession  of  our  state, 
the  peers  of  their  brethren  of  the  most  favored  cities  of  the 
East. 

Let  me  mention  one  name,  that  of  Edward  O.  Hamlin  of 
St.  Cloud,  the  honored  judge  of  that  circuit.  A  murder  had 
been  committed,  and  the  exasperated  citizens  judged  the  crim- 
inal by  mob  law,  and  hanged  him.  Borne  of  the  most  promi- 
nent citizens  of  the  county  notified  Judge  Hamlin  that  he  must 
not  charge  the  grand  jury  with  reference  to  this  deed,  and  that 
if  he  did,  he  could  never  again  be  elected.  Judge  Hamlin  paid 
no  attention  to  the  threat,  but  charged  the  jury  in  one  of  the 
most  manly  appeals  which  ever  came  from  a  judicial  bench. 
When  I  read  it,  I  said  to  my  friend,  "Hamlin,  I  would  rather 
have  made  that  charge  of  yours  than  to  be  President  of  the 
United  States," 

Minnesota  has  a  long  list  of  jurists  like  Nelson,  Mitchell, 
Ripley,  Williston,  Gilfillan,  Severance,  and  others,  whose  judi- 
cial ermine  is  without  a  stain.  There  are,  however,  some  ex- 
ceptions among  the  lawyers.  I  remember  one  of  my  Indians 
who  employed  a  lawyer  to  prepare  some  legal  papers.  On 
paying  him  his  fee,  the  Indian  asked  for  a  receipt.  "You  do 
not  need  a  receipt,"  said  the  lawyer,  "why  are  you  so  anxious 
about  it?"  The  Indian  answered,  "Since  becoming  a  Christian 
I  have  tried  to  keep  my  accounts  square,  and  when  the  Day 
of  Judgment  comes  I  can't  take  time  to  go  to  the  bad  place 
to  look  you  up  to  get  my  receipt." 

The  medical  profession  has  been  nobly  represented.  When 
I  visited  Dr.  Willey  on  his  death  bed,  I  remember  with  what 
loving  interest  he  called  over  the  names  of  his  professional 
brethren,  who,  he  said,  would  be  an  honor  to  any  state. 

Many  of  those  early  settlers  are  now  occupying  positions  of 
trust  and  eminence  in  commercial  circles,  reached  by  integrity 
and  industry.     While  our  state  has  been  represented  by  men  of, 
different  religious  creeds,  there  has  been  unusual  freedom  from 
the  rancor  and  bitterness  of  sectarian  strife. 


582  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

The  character  of  our  people  has  been  exhibited  in  its  citizen 
soldiery.  I  can  never  forget  a  Sunday  in  1861,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  our  Civil  War,  when  I  stood  on  the  field  at  Fort  Snell- 
ing  in  the  midst  of  a  thousand  men  and  preached  to  them  on 
love  and  loyalty  to  country.  That  night  they  enlisted  as  the 
First  Regiment  of  Minnesota  Volunteers.  I  met  them  again 
at  the  battle  of  Antietam,  when  the  ground  was  covered  with 
the  dead  and  dying,  and  received  scores  of  last  messages  from 
brave  hearts  to  the  loved  ones  at  home.  That  night,  when  at 
General  McClellan's  request  I  held  a  thanksgiving  service  at 
his  headquarters,  he  said  to  me,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  "Bishop, 
it  would  wrong  other  brave  men  to  say  that  your  Minnesota 
boys  are  the  bravest  men  in  the  army,  but  I  will  say  that  no 
general  ever  commanded  braver  men  than  the  Minnesota 
First." 

Some  months  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  I  celebrated 
the  Holy  Communion  at  the  headquarters  of  General  Meade, 
when  he  paid  a  like  tribute  to  the  bravery  of  Minnesota  sol- 
diers. 

One  looks  back  with  amazement  at  the  ignorance  mani- 
fested as  to  the  resources  of  Minnesota.  I  was  in  London 
when  our  esteemed  friend's,  Edmund  Rice  and  Colonel  Crooks, 
sought  to  interest  English  capitalists  in  our  railways.  I  was 
asked  by  some  bankers  as  to  the  character  of  the  country  along 
the  line  of  the  proposed  St.  Paul  and  Pacific  railway.  I  said 
that  there  was  no  better  land  in  the  world,  and  that  if  the 
country  west  of  St.  Paul  and  tributary  to  the  Red  River  Val- 
ley were  cultivated  as  in  England,  it  would  feed  the  entire 
population  of  England.  My  remarks  were  received  with  in- 
credulity. 

In  1870  some  Holland  bankers,  whom  I  met  in  Italy,  asked 
my  opinion  of  the  same  St.  Paul  and  Pacific  railway,  and 
stated  that  they  held  a  large  amount  of  its  bonds.  I  said, 
"The  railway  has  been  built  in  advance  of  the  population.  It 
may  be  years  before  it  becomes  a  paying  investment,  but  the 
day  will  come  when  it  will  be  one  of  the  foremost  railways  in 
the  world."  They,  too,  doubted  my  statement.  I  advised  them 
to  care  for  this  property,  and  suggested  the  names  of  General 
H.  H.  Sibley,  John  L.  Merriam,  and  J.  E.  Thompson,  as  men 
upon  whose  advice  they  could  rely.    They  did  not  seek  the 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  5Q3 

advice,  and  some  years  later  disposed  of  their  property  to  Mr. 
Hill  and  his  associates  at  a  great  sacrifice. 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  call  over  the  names  inwrought 
in  the  history  of  our  goodly  state.  There  was  Henry  T.  Welles, 
the  most  generous  of  men,  a  clear  thinker  and  scholar,  who 
stood  through  his  entire  life  for  the  best  interests  of  the  state. 

General  H.  H.  Sibley,  who  came  here  as  the  chief  factor  of 
the  Northwest  Fur  Company,  when  the  only  settlement  in  Min- 
nesota was  the  trading  post  at  Mendota,  was  one  of  the  most 
genial,  clear-headed  and  warm-hearted  men  T  have  known,  the 
friend  of  the  Indians  and  an  honored  and  loyal  citizen. 

Col.  D.  A.  Robertson,  an  encyclopaedia  of  learning,  was  one 
of  those  rare  men  whose  friendship  is  a  lifelong  blessing. 
Henry  and  Edmund  Rice  were  the  most  generous  of  friends, 
whose  names  will  be  remembered  as  faithful  public  servants. 
I  have  not  spoken  of  the  living  members  of  this  society,  Ram- 
sey, McKusick,  Le  Due,  Pillsbury,  Blakeley,  Mioss,  and  others, 
whose  lives  are  inwrought  in  the  history  of  the  state. 

In  its  early  history,  our  state  had  a  goodly  number  of  de- 
voted clergy,  as  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mattocks,  beloved  of  all;  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Neill,  the  painstaking  historian;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gear, 
the  scholar  and  Christian  priest;  the  devoted  Father  Ravoux; 
and  many  other  sainted  men  who  lived  and  worked  for  others. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  absence  of  strife  among  Christians. 
In  1863,  President  Lincoln  appointed  Bishop  Grace  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Williamson,  Presbyte- 
rian, and  myself,  to  visit  the  Ojibways  and  make  a  report  upon 
their  condition.  At  the  outset  I  suggested  that,  as  we  were  to 
sleep  in  the  same  tent,  eat  together,  and  live  together  for  some 
weeks,  we  should  avoid  all  questions  upon  which  we  differed. 
I  said,  "I  have  the  only  interpreter.  As  there  are  Indians  who 
have  been  baptized  by  Father  Pierre,  I  will  have  my  interpreter 
bring  them  to  Bishop  Grace  for  counsel.  There  are  a  few  scat- 
tered Indians  who  were  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Frederick  Ayer, 
and  they  shall  be  brought  to  Dr.  Williamson  for  instruction. 
As  Christian  men,  we  shall  certainly  ask  a  blessing  before 
meals,  and  I  propose  that  Bishop  Grace  shall  ask  God's  bless- 
ing at  breakfast,  and  Dr.  Williamson  at  dinner,  and  I  at  sup- 
per." We  were  together  three  weeks;  we  encountered  many 
hardships,  and  one  night  nearly  perished  from  cold;  but  the 


584  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

Christian  courtesy  and  gentleness  of  my  companions  is  a  pleas- 
ant memory. 

I  mentioned  this  incident  at  a  breakfast  given  me  in  Lon- 
don by  Sir  Henry  Holland,  at  which  Lord  Houghton,  Ranke, 
the  historian,  Lord  Salisbury,  and  George  Lewes  were  present. 
They  exclaimed,  "Do  you  say  that  you  were  together  three 
weeks  without  a  ripple  of  discord?  Minnesota  must  be  the 
beginning  of  the  millennium.  It  could  not  have  happened  on 
English  soil." 

In  my  first  visits  to  the  Indian  country  I  found  a  few  of 
the  voyageurs  and  employees  of  the  Northwest  Fur  Company. 
They  were  devoted  to  the  Indians,  and  at  all  times  gave  me 
their  hearty  sympathy.  Allan  Morrison  and  Mr.  Fairbanks 
of  Crow  Wing,  Philander  Prescott,  Alexander  Faribault, 
Borup,  Cakes,  N.  W.  Kittson,  Alexis  Bailly,  Mr.  Shubway  of 
Bed  Lake,  and  others  of  this  class  of  early  traders,  were  men 
of  integrity  and  generous  of  their  substance.  Before  the  In- 
dians came  into  the  treaty  relations  with  the  Government,  the 
relation  between  the  trader  and  Indian  was  one  of  mutual  good 
will. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  State  was  Joseph 
R.  Brown,  known  to  the  older  members  of  the  Historical  So- 
ciety. He  possessed  great  executive  ability,  and  a  rare  knowl- 
edge of  Indian  character.  The  gains  which  he  received  from 
Indian  contracts  he  expended  with  lavish  hand  for  his  retain- 
ers among  the  Indians. 

Another  who  had  a  deep  love  for  the  Indians  was  George 
Bonga,  an  interesting  mixed-blood  negro,  living  at  Leech  Lake, 
Who  was  my  voyageur  and  interpreter, 

I  think  that  I  may  say  without  question  that  the  state  has 
been  fortunate  in  the  character  of  its  newspaper  press,  al- 
though sometimes,  in  the  heat  of  partisanship,  unjust  to  op- 
ponents,  yet  for  the  most  part  taking  a  firm  stand  for  educa- 
tion, morality,  and  religion. 

As  I  was  the  only  citizen  of  Minnesota  who  could  not  move 
out  of  the  state  (for  a  diocesan  bishop  of  our  church  must  die  in 
his  see),  I  have  always  taken  a  keen  interest  in  all  political 
questions  which  affected  its  welfare.  Our  first  representative 
in  Congress,  H.  H.  Sibley,  delegate  for  the  Territory  of  Min- 
nesota, of  whom  my  friend  Robert  C.  Winthrop  said,  "He  is 
one  of  the  noblest  and  purest  members  of  Congress/'  is  but  one 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  535 

of  the  many  representatives  of  incorruptible  integrity,  who 
were  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  commonwealth. 

It  is  difficult  to  realize  the  marvelous  changes  which  have 
taken  place  in  the  material  developments  of  the  state  within 
my  memory.  Duluth,  which  at  the  time  of  my  first  visit  had 
but  five  families,  is  now  one  of  the  greatest  grain  markets  in 
the  world.  I  remember  the  first  shipment  of  wheat  from  Min- 
nesota. Wonderful  strides  have  been  made  in  all  lines  of 
manufacture,  mining,  and  commercial  life. 

When  I  came  to  Minnesota  our  trade  with  the  Northwest 
British  possessions  was  carried  on  by  Red  River  carts,  rude 
structures  without  a  particle  of  iron,  the  parts  held  together 
by  pegs  and  withes  and  drawn  by  a  single  ox  in  thills.  As 
the  cart  wheels  were  never  oiled,  their  screeching  could  be 
heard  miles  before  the  caravan  came  in  sight.  They  were  laden 
with  furs,  and  returned  with  merchandise. 

Our  intercourse  with  the  outside  world  was,  in  the  summer, 
by  the  Mississippi  steamers,  commanded  by  Captain  Orren 
Smith,  Russell  Blakeley,  and  Commodore  Davidson.  Many 
here  present  will  remember  with  delight  the  days  spent  on  the 
beautiful  Mississippi  before  its  navigation  was  interrupted  by 
sandbars.  In  the  winter,  the  journeys  to  Dubuque  were  made 
in  Walker's  rude  stages,  before  the  day  of  the  luxurious  coaches 
of  Burbank  and  Company. 

The  inns  on  the  frontier  were  of  the  rudest  character,  and 
well  deserved  the  name  which  one  bore,  "Hyperborean  Hotel." 
Every  summer  I  travelled  on  foot  hundreds  of  miles  in  our 
northern  forests,  visiting  the  scattered  bands  of  Indians. 

I  have  never  looked  upon  scenery  more  beautiful  than  that 
surrounding  the  lakes  of  northern  Minnesota,  Every  variety 
of  tree  was  to  be  seen,  while  the  earth  was  spread  with  a  bril- 
liant carpet  of  wild  flowers  of  every  hue.  The  lakes  and  rivers 
were  filled  with  fish,  and  game  was  found  in  great  abundance. 
I  have  seen  buffalo  west  of  Yellow  Medicine,  elk  on  the  prai- 
ries south  of  Sauk  Center,  and  moose,  bear,  and  foxes  in  our 
northern  forests.  If  the  National  Park,  which  would  include 
some  of  our  most  beautiful  lakes,  is  established  and  properly 
cared  for,  it  will  be  a  rich  inheritance  for  future  generations. 

I  have  alluded  to  the  rude  homes  of  the  frontier  population, 
forty  years  ago,  a  majority  of  whom  were  of  foreign  birth. 


586  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

There  are  no  foreigners  in  the  brotherhood!  of  the  nation.  In 
no  one  direction  has  the  state  made  more  wonderful  advances 
than  in  its  agricultural  population.  Our  State  University  and 
primary  schools  have  proved  an  inestimable  blessing.  These 
country  homes  are  surrounded  by  comforts,  and  no  state  in 
the  Union  has  a  more  intelligent  rural  population,  keenly  alive 
to  the  state's  interests.  It  is  a  fact  full  of  promise,  for  this 
new  blood  from  the  country  homes  reinforces  the  life  of  the 
cities,  and  adds  to  the  civil  welfare.  Nothing  in  our  history, 
to  my  mind,  gives  greater  hope  for  the  future;  for  the  strength 
and  safety  of  the  nation  is  in  its  Christian  homes.  In  the  past 
they  have  always  been  the  best  resource  of  the  nation  in  the 
hours  of  her  trials. 

When  I  think  of  our  beautiful  halls  of  education,  our 
thronged  university,  our  hospitals  and  homes  of  mercy,  our 
churches  with  heavenward-pointing  spires,  our  teeming  ware- 
houses, our  busy  manufactories,  our  world-famed  flour  mills 
with  their  vast  exportation®,  and  that  tremendous  tide  of  liv- 
ing souls  that  comes  to  us  year  by  year  from  other  shores  to 
become  incorporated  into  our  citizenship  and  to  form  the  new 
race  which  God  is  raising  up  here  to  be  in  the  forefront  of 
great  achievement,  I  can  only  say  with  a  grateful  heart: 
"What  nation  is  there  so  great  who  hath  God  so  nigh  unto 
them  as  the  Lord  our  God  in  all  things  that  we  call  upon  Him 
for?" 

In  conclusion,  to  speak  last  of  the  missionary  work  for  the 
Ghristianization  of  the  Indians  of  this  state  and  of  all  the 
country  westward,  there  are  those  present,  members  of  your 
society,  and  representatives  of  the  press,  who  have  always 
given  me  their  sympathy  in  my  efforts  for  these  brown  children 
of  our  Heavenly  Father.  And  I  am  sure  that  they  will  rejoice 
with  me  that  there  are  now  over  twenty-five  thousand  Indian 
communicants  of  Christian  churches;  over  twenty-two  thou- 
sand Indian  children  in  schools;  and  thirty-eight  thousand 
who  speak  English.  As  a  people,  they  are  fast  learning  the 
civilization  which  will  make  them  our  fellow-citizens. 


PROGRESS  OF  MINNESOTA  DURING  THE  HALF 

CENTURY. 


BY  HON.  CHARLES  E.  FLANDRAU. 


Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  I  have  been  chosen 
to  present  to  you,  on  this  unusually  interesting  occasion,  a  sub- 
ject which,  if  treated  in  the  usual  way,  would  be  a  dismal  array 
of  heavy  statistics.  Whether  the  selection  was  made  with  ref- 
erence to  my  peculiar  talent  for  dullness,  I  am  unable  to  say; 
but,  fortunately  for  you,  I  am  limited  to  half  an  hour,  in  which 
to  tell  you  all  about  the  growth  of  Minnesota  in  the  last  fifty 
years.  Think  of  it!  I  am  expected  to  compress  that  vast  sub- 
ject into  the  space  of  thirty  minutes.  It  looks  to  me  a  good 
deal  like  holding  up  a  man  and  saying  to  him,  "Write  me  the 
history  of  the  world  while  I  wait." 

If  I  desired  to  let  you  down  easily  and  shield  you  from 
dreary  figures  and  calculations,  I  could  say,  go  out  into  the 
"state  anywhere  and  look  about  you  and  whatever  you  see,  or 
hear  of,  which  represents  the  handiwork  of  man,  may  be  taken 
as  part  of  the  growth  of  the  state  in  the  last  half  century. 
Fifty  years  ago  it  was  almost  in  the  exact  condition  in  which 
it  was  left  by  its  generous  and  bountiful  Creator,  and  now  it 
is  one  of  the  great  and  prosperous  states  of  the  American 
Union.  Great  cities  have  arisen  where,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  period,  were  empty  and  nameless  spaces,  only  inhabited  by 
the  primitive  savage.  Distances  have  been  annihilated;  lo- 
calities that  were  then  thirty  days  apart  are  now  within,  reach 
in  a  few  hours'  journey.  The  luxurious  Pullman  car  has  super- 
seded the  Red  River  cart  and  the  Indian  pony;  the  frontier 
camp  has  given  way  to  the  comfortably  appointed  hotel.  The 
varicolored  dress  of  the  picturesque  half-savage  voyageur  has 


588  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

yielded  to  the  somber  costume  of  the  civilized  citizen.  The 
farmer  has  usurped  "the  place  of  the  hunter;  the  old  frontier 
guide,  whose  unerring  instinct  would  pilot  you  safely  across 
the  continent,  is  now  lost  in  the  bewildering  intricacies  of 
artificial  civilization;  and  the  original  proprietor  of  the  land 
is  a  miserable  prisoner,  corralled,  dismounted,  and  disarmed. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  decide  upon  the  justice  of  all  these  vital 
changes.  It  is  accepted  by  the  nations  in  the  progress  of  the 
world.  The  stronger  despoils  the  weaker,  on  the  plea  of  the 
necessities  of  the  advance  of  civilization,  to  which  has  recently 
been  added  the  elusive  generality  of  manifest  destiny.  The 
Boer  must  yield  to  the  Briton,  the  Spaniard  and  Filipino  to 
the  American;  and  no  doubt,  should  the  autocratic  Russian 
outstrip  them  all  in  the  race  for  power,  which  is  by  no  means 
impossible,  and,  according  to  the  recognized  authorities,  quite 
probable,  they  may  all  have  to  succumb  to  his  brutal  dictation 
under  the  very  adaptable  name  of  benevolent  assimilation.  To 
what  ends  the  selfish  passions  of  man  may  ultimately  lead,  and 
to  what  judgment  his  unrighteous  deeds  may  subject  him,  the 
Great  Spirit  can  be  the  only  arbiter. 

There  has  been  more  justice,  and  less  arbitrary  exertion  of 
force,  in  the  absorption  of  the  country  of  the  North  American 
Indian,  than  in  similar  cases  in  other  lands.  We  have  made 
a  show  of  purchasing  his  domains;  but  had  he  declined  to  part 
with  them,  he  would  have  fallen  under  the  wheels  of  the  jug- 
gernaut of  advancing  civilization,  as  have  all  the  weaker  na- 
tions. 

With  these  reflections,  I  will  take  up  the  subject  that  I  have 
been  asked  to  consider. 

When  what  is  now  Minnesota  came  from  the  hands  of  its 
Creator,  I  can  say,  without  exaggeration,  it  was  about  the  best 
equipped  country,  of  equal  size,  to  be  found  in  North  America. 
It  is  located  on  the  summit  of  the  continent,  where  the  waters 
flow  in  three  directions,  the  Mississippi  due  south  to  the  Ghilf 
of  Mexico,  the  Red  river  of  the  North  due  north  to  mingle  with 
the  waters  of  the  Arctic  sea,  the  St.  Louis  river  east  to  the 
waters  of  lake  Superior  and  thence  to  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
the  Atlantic.  On  its  fair  bosom  were  ten  thousand  beautiful 
lakes,  great  and  small,  filled  with  delicious  fish.  A  large  por- 
tion of  its  surface  was  covered  with  a  mighty  forest  of  pine 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  589 

and  hardwood  trees,  giving  a  home  to  myriads  of  wild  animals, 
moose,  deer,  cariboo,  elk,  bear,  wolf,  and  others.  Its  streams 
were  the  home  of  the  beaver  and  the  otter ;  and  its  vast  prai- 
ries swarmed  with  the  buffalo  and  the  antelope.  Sugar  maple 
groves  and  wild  rice  fields  abounded.  Nothing  that  contrib- 
utes to  the  well-being  of  man  seemed  wanting. 

Its  climate  was  salubrious  beyond  comparison  with  any 
other  portion  of  the  earth's  surface.  There  were  no  indigenous 
diseases,  and  in  fact  no  excuse  for  sickness  or  death.  So 
thoroughly  was  this  Jdea  impressed  upon  the  mind  and  belief 
of  the  old  settler  that  there  was  a  universally  accepted  saying, 
that  no  one  had  ever  died  in  Minnesota  but  two  men,  one  of 
whom  was  hanged  for  killing  the  other.  I  can  well  remember 
that  the  first  natural  death  that  I  heard  of,  after  my  settlement 
in  the  Territory,  caused  me  a  greater  shock  than  the  thousands 
that  have  since  occurred. 

The  soil  was  phenomenally  rich  and  fertile.  It  was  espe- 
cially adapted  to  the  production  of  the  greatest  of  all  staple 
grains,  wheat;  and  it  was  unexcelled  in  the  growth  of  all 
other  cereals. 

The  first  inhabitants  were  the  Indians,  and  the  commerce 
which  arose  from  their  hunting  of  fur  animals  soon  attracted 
the  white  men.  The  first  white  occupants  were  the  fur  com- 
panies and  the  missionaries,  the  first  for  gain,  and  the  mission- 
aries to  .introduce  among  the  savages  the  teachings  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  fur  trade  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  first  busi- 
ness transacted  in  Minnesota.  The  men  controlling  it  were  of 
a  higher  type  than  generally  appear  on  the  border  in  the  first 
instance,  Henry  H.  Sibley,  Henry  M.  Rice,  Norman  W.  Kittson, 
William  H.  Forbes^  and  others.  The  business  expanded  to 
great  proportions  and  made  St.  ,Paul  one  of  the  largest  fur 
markets  in  America. 

Very  little  was  known  of  Minnesota  outside  of  its  fur  trade, 
until  its  organization  as  a  Territory  in  1849 ;  although  the  at- 
tractions presented  by  its  pine  forests  had  drawn  within  its 
borders  a  few  lumbermen  before  that  event,  who  were  settled 
about  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  St. 
Croix.  They  soon  increased  in  number,  built  sawmills,  and  in 
these  fifty  years  have  pushed  the  lumber  business  from  a  very 
small  beginning  to  such  immense  proportions  that  there  W£re 
cut  in  the  last  season  1,629,110,000  feet.    Preparatory  to  the 


590  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

census  of  1880,  pie  United  States  government  had  an  estimate 
made  of  all  the  standing  pine  in  the  state,  and  called  it  10,000,- 
000,000  feet,  which  was  far  below  the  truth,  as  the  amount  cut 
annually  since  proves.  But  the  encroachments  made  on  the 
pine  forests  have  been  sufficient  to  create  fear  that  they  will 
soon  become  exhausted  if  measures  of  preservation  are  ;not 
speedily  taken,  and  earnest  work  is  being  done  to  preserve 
them  through  government  reserves  and  parks.  This  effort  may 
succeed,  but  Jt  is  so  complicated  by  private  ownership  that  it 
looks  improbable.  Many  large  fortunes  have  been  made  in 
lumber  in  Minnesota. 

The  first  Territorial  Legislature  convened  in  St.  Paul,  in  the 
dining  room  of  the  old  Central  House,  on  the  third  day  of 
September,  1849.  The  councillors  numbered  nine;  and  the 
members  of  the  house,  eighteen.  The  governor, — now  the  hon- 
ored president  of  this  society, — delivered  a  message  that  was 
admirably  adapted  to  the  situation,  and  was  intended  to  at- 
tract attention  to  the  Territory  and  invite  immigration.  It 
succeeded  to  the  fullest  extent,  and  the  Territory  began  to 
grow  in  population  rapidly. 

The  census  that  had  been  taken  in  1849,  under  the  organic 
act,  gave  the  whole  Territory,  which  then  extended  to  the  Mis- 
souri river  and  included  the  greater  part  of  what  is  now  North 
and  South  Dakota,  four  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty 
inhabitants,  of  which  St.  Paul  had  eight  hundred  and  forty. 
The  immigration  was  moderate  until  the  year  1855,  when  it 
began  to  develop  enormously.  It  came  from  all  directions,  by 
wagon  trains  from  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Indiana,  and 
other  states,  and  by  steamboats  from  everywhere.  Its  magni- 
tude can  best  be  understood;  when  I  tell  you  that  the  packet 
company  running  boats  on  the  Mississippi  brought  into  St. 
Paul  that  year  thirty  thousand  immigrants.  These  people  gen- 
erally sought  farms,  and  spread  themselves  over  the  country; 
but  no  agricnlture  worth  mentioning,  except  such  as  was  nec- 
essary for  home  consumption,  was  developed  until  after  1857. 
The  census  of  1895,  taken  by  the  state,  gives  us  a  population  of 
1,574,619.  The  growth  since  will  undoubtedly  swell  the  pres- 
ent total  to  nearly  2,000,000. 

The  newcomers  naturally  located  along  the  Mississippi  and 
Minnesota  rivers,  and  gradually  extended  into  the  interior; 
but  so  many  of  them  remained  in  the  cities  and  engaged 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  591 

in  speculation  that  a  financial  panic  ensued  in  1857,  which 
<drove  the  idlers  to  work.  In  a  very  few  years  we  had  large 
areas  of  our  agricultural  lands  in  southern  Minnesota  un- 
der cultivation  and  many  millions  of  bushels  of  wheat  for 
export.  This  was  our  second  step  in  material  progress,  and 
it  continued  until  the  lands  so  cultivated  began  to  show  symp- 
toms of  exhaustion,  when  the  farmers  in  our  southern  coun- 
ties partially  abandoned  wheat  culture,  and  adopted  butter 
and  cheese  making,  with  great  success.  About  this  time  the 
wonderful  possibilities  of  the  valley  plain  of  the  Red  river  of 
the  North  appeared  in  evidence,  and  the  principal  theater  of 
wheat-raising  was  transferred  to  that  area.  This  change  in 
no  way  diminished  the  culture  of  wheat  in  the  state,  but  simply 
removed  it  from  its  old  grounds.  Last  year  the  state  produced 
seventy-eight  million  bushels. 

As  soon  as  the  production  of  wheat  began  to  exceed  the 
domestic  wants  of  the  state,  the  water  powers  at  St.  Anthony 
Palls  and  elsewhere  were  utilized  for  its  manufacture  into 
flour;  and  to  such  an  extent  did  the  industry  progress  that 
the  output  at  Minneapolis  for  the  year  1898-9  was  15,164,881 
barrels,  and  at  Duluth-Superior  for  the  same  period  (the  only 
other  places  where  records  are  kept)  2,637,085  barrels,  while 
the  estimate  for  the  whole  state  is  twenty-five  million  barrels. 
In  the  years  1871  to  1874,  the  Hungarian  process  of  milling 
our  spring  wheat  was  introduced  into  Minnesota,  with  the 
advantage  of  producing  a  grade  of  flour  superior  to  that  of  the 
winter  wheat  of  more  southern  latitudes,  while  at  the  same 
time  it  reduced  the  quantity  of  wheat  necessary  to  make  a 
barrel  of  flour,  of  196  pounds,  from  five  bushels  to  four  bushels 
and  seven  pounds,  thus  increasing  the  value  of  our  wheat  fully 
twenty  per  cent. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  features  regarding  the  general 
growth  of  our  state  was  connected  with  the  first  session  of  our 
legislature  in  1849,  and  I  never  think  of  it  without  being  im- 
pressed profoundly  with  the  sagacity  of  our  early  settlers. 
Where  was  there  ever  a  body  of  men  assembled  for  the  first 
time  to  administer  to  the  welfare  of  an  extreme  frontier  terri- 
tory, that  rose  much  above  the  realm  of  townsites,  sawlogs, 
and  peltries?  But  in  our  case  we  find  that  small  collection  of 
men  comprehending  the  intellectual  wants  of  future  genera- 
tions, and  providing  for  them  by  the  establishment  of  a  his- 


592  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

torical  society  for  the  record  of  events  yet  unborn.  Esthetic 
conceptions  of  this  nature  are  usually  the  result  of  necessity, 
arising  from  neglect  of  the  former  generations  to  supply  such 
records,  but  here  we  have  the  whole  thing  anticipated  at  the 
initial  step  in  our  history.  This  fact  stamps  our  first  legisla- 
ture with  a  remarkable  degree  of  wisdom,  and  goes  a  great 
way  to  account  for  the  intelligent  administration  of  our  subse- 
quent affairs,  and  for  our  phenomenal  growth. 

While  dealing  with  the  growth  of  our  state,  I  must  admit 
that  the  legislative  department  has  expanded  immensely  in 
numbers.  The  legislature  is  now  composed  of  sixty-three 
senators  and  one  hundred  and  nineteen  representatives.  Does 
it  give  us  laws  of  value  equal  to  its  progression  in  numbers? 
If  I  may  be  allowed  an  opinion,  I  would  say,  no.  If  I  should 
be  asked  whether  it  would  be  improved  by  being  diminished 
two-thirds,  I  would  say,  yes. 

About  the  third  step  in  the  progression  of  the  statq's  growth 
was  the  dairy  industry.  It  had  a  small  beginning,  and  was 
in  imitation  of  the  farmers  of  Iowa,  who  had  undergone  the 
same  experience  in  over-taxing  their  lands  with  wheat.  It 
soon,  however,  assumed  great  proportions,  and  made  the  south- 
ern counties  of  the  state  the  most  prosperous  region  within  its 
boundaries.  There  are  now  about  seven  hundred  creameries, 
using  the  milk  of  410,000  cows,  and,  in  1898,  producing  63,000,- 
000  pounds  of  butter,  of  which  60,000,000  pounds  were  ex- 
ported. The  gross  receipts  amounted  to  $10,400,000,  and  the  sum 
paid  to  the  patrons  of  the  creameries  amounted  to  $8,600,000. 
Minnesota  butter  has  carried  off  the  prizes  at  all  the  exposi- 
tions where  it  has  been  exhibited. 

While  these  various  industries  were  growing  and  expand- 
ing, manufactures  of  almost  every  nature  were  being  estab- 
lished throughout  the  state,  as  boots  and  shoes,  agricultural 
implements,  clothes,  fur  garments,  pottery,  bricks  and  build- 
ing material  of  all  kinds,  breweries,  distilleries,  packing  houses, 
and  in  fact  almost  everything  pertaining  to  a  young  western 
state.  I  shall  have  to  except  distilleries  from  my  industries, 
as  they  have  ceased.  Whether  this  result  was  on  account  of 
our  people  preferring  Kentucky  whisky  to  the  domestic  article, 
or  the  work  of  the  trusts,  I  can't  say,  but  I  don't  believe  the 
amount  consumed  has  to  any  great  extent  decreased.  It  is 
impossible  to  estimate  the  aggregate  of  these  manufacturing 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  593 

industries,  as  no  branch  of  them  is  fully  reported,  but  on  the 
whole  they  probably  exceed  all  others  in  magnitude. 

Transportation,  of  course,  kept  pace  with  the  general 
growth  of  the  Mate;  and,  by  reason  of  a  wisely  selected  distri- 
bution of  Congressional  land  grants  in  the  beginning  for  our 
railroads,  Minnesota  has  become  a  great  center  of  an  immense 
railroad  system  extending  over  the  whole  continent.  In  1849 
there  were  no  railroads  west  of  Chicago.  Now  we  have  con- 
nection with  all  existing  roads,  and  two  trans-continental  roads 
are  especially  our  own,  the  Great  Northern  and  the  Northern 
Pacific,  which  will,  at  no  distant  date,  encircle  the  earth  with 
their  locomotives  and  steamships.  In  Minnesota  alone  there 
are  twenty-six  distinct  railroad  corporations,  operating  six 
thousand  and  sixty-two  miles  of  main  track,  with  quite  a  sub- 
stantial addition  in  course  of  construction. 

Another  immense  source  of  wealth  to  the  state  is  its  iron 
ore.  Mining*  operations  commenced  about  the  year  1884,  and 
in  that  year  62,124  tons  were  mined  on  the  Vermilion  range  in 
St.  Louis  county,  north  of  Duluth.  The  production  rapidly  in- 
creased, and  in  1808  there  were  mined,  on  the  Vermilion  and 
Mesabi  ranges,  the  enormous  amount  of  5,878,908  tons  of  ore, 
and  for  the  period  since  the  opening  of  the  mines  in  1884,  the 
grand  total  of  twenty-eight  and  a  half  million  tons.  The  most 
of  this  industry  is  in  private  hands,  but  the  state  owns  a  large 
amount  of  mineral  lands  from  which  it  receives  royalties  on 
the  ore  produced  by  its  tenants  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  cents 
per  ton  of  2,240  pounds,  which  carries  its  income  to  the  present 
time  up  into  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars,  with  the 
promise  of  continual  increase. 

The  banking  facilities  of  the  state  have  grown  from  Borup 
and  Oakes,  Truman  M.  Smith,  BidwelFs  Exchange  Bank, 
Charles  H.  Parker,  and  A.  Vance  Brown,  all  of  whom,  except 
Borup  and  Oakes,  went  under  in  the  panic  of  1857,  to  one 
hundred  and  seventy-two  state  banks  with  a  paid  in  capital  of 
f6,736,800,  and  sixty-seven  national  banks  with  a  capital  of 
111,220,000,  besides  numerous  private  banks,  of  which  the  au- 
thorities do  not  take  cognizance,  with  an  estimated  capital  of 
$2,000,000. 

The  growth  of  the  state  is  not  to  be  computed  solely  upon 
the  basis  of  its  material  and  physical  prosperity.  One  of  the 
most  important  elements  in  the  consideration,  is  its  intellectual 
38 


594  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

and  esthetic  advancement.  Minnesota  had  a  more  generous 
endowment,  in  an  educational  point  of  view,  than  any  other 
state  in  the  Union.  When  it  was  organized  as  a  Territory  fifty 
years  ago,  it  was  granted  by  the  United  States  government  one 
eighteenth  of  its  whole  lands  for  school  purposes.  It  also  had 
a  generous  donation  of  lands  for  its  university  and  agricultural 
college,  and  it  has  carefully  and  faithfully  cared  for  these 
splendid  gifts,  until  its  schools  have  reached  a  plane  of  excel- 
lence unsurpassed  in  any  other  state,  and  its  university  takes 
rank  with  the  highest  educational  institutions  in  the  country. 
The  last  published  catalogue  of  the  State  University  gives  it 
2,925  pupils,  and  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  say  that  it  has  never 
been  disgraced  by  any  of  the  scandalous  student  demonstra- 
tions so  common  at  other  colleges. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  much  about  the  religion  or  politics 
of  the  state.  We  don't  profess  to  be  superior  to  our  neighbors 
in  either  of  these  respects.  We  have  in  great  abundance 
nearly  all  known  denominations  of  Christianity.  The  Catho- 
lics have  deemed  our  growth  and  standing  sufficient  to  entitle 
us  to  an  archbishopric,  and  have  given  us  John  Ireland  to  fill 
the  exalted  ecclesiastical  office  of  that  jurisdiction,  a  priest 
who  has  no  superior  in  the  world  as  a  statesman,  a  churchman, 
and  a  diplomat.  The  Protestants  have  supplied  us  with  rep- 
resentatives of  many  varieties  of  creeds  and  forms  of  church 
government,  from  the  stately  Episcopalian,  with  its  world- 
renowned  Bishop  Henry  B.  Whipple,  to  the  Christian  Scientist, 
if  the  latter  may  be  catalogued  among  Protestant  religions.  In 
this  connection  I  am  tempted  to  relate  an  anecdote  of  a  French- 
man, who  returned  to  his  country  from  a  tour  of  America,  and 
was  asked  what  he  thought  of  the  Americans.  His  reply  was, 
"They  are  a  most  extraordinary  people;  they  have  invented 
three  hundred  religions,  and  only  one  sauce." 

.  While  on  the  point  of  intellectual  growth,  I  must  mention 
the  progress  made  in  the  publication  of  newspapers,  which,  say 
what  you  like,  have  greater  influence  on  the  education  of  the 
public  than  any  other  instrumentality.  In  1849,  James  M. 
Goodhue  established  the  first  newspaper  in  the  Territory  and 
called  it  the  "Minnesota  Pioneer,"  the  first  issue  of  which  ap- 
peared on  the  28th  day  of  April  of  that  year.  It  was  a  stun- 
ner, and  Goodhue  was  the  man  of  all  men  to  edit  it.  He  was 
energetic,   enterprising,   brilliant,   bold   and   belligerent.     He 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  595 

naturally  got  into  fights  and  scrapes,  and  died  from  a  wound 
received  in  an  encounter  with  a  brother  of  Judge  Cooper,  grow- 
ing oat  of  an  article  he  had  published  concerning  the  judge. 
It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  his  assailant  died  from  a  wound  in- 
flicted by  Goodhue  in  the  same  affair. 

From  this  beginning  the  growth  of  newspapers  in  the  state 
has  been  marvelous.  We  now  publish  five  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-four in  the  state;  some  daily,  some  weekly,  and  some 
monthly.  They  appear  in  many  different  languages,  for  im- 
migrants from  as  many  lands,  English,  French,  German,  Swed- 
ish, Norwegian,  Danish,  Bohemian,  and  one  in  Icelandic,  which 
last  is  published  in  Lyon  county.  Files  of  nearly  all  these  pa- 
pers, donated  by  their  editors  and  publishers,  are  carefully  pre- 
served in  the  archives  of  this  society,  where  will  be  found  4,250 
bound  newspaper  volumes,  which  include  nearly  every  paper 
that  has  ever  been  published  in  the  state. 

It  is  sometimes  a  good  method,  in  presenting  the  growth  of 
a  state  or  country,  to  make  comparisons  between  it  and  other 
well  known  countries.  I  will  take  California  as  an  illustrative 
instance.  It  had  in  1849  a  wonderful  introduction  to  the  coun- 
try and  the  world  by  the  discovery  of  gold  within  its  limits,  and 
people  flocked  thither  in  numbers  unprecedented  in  the  history 
of  American  immigration.  The  gold  was  there  in  fabulous 
amounts,  and  much  of  it  was  mined  for  many  years.  It  has 
the  finest  harbor  and  seaport  on  the  Pacific  coast.  It  is  nearly 
twice  as  large  as  Minnesota,  having  158,360  square  miles,  while 
we  have  but  84,287.  Its  climate  is  delightful,  and  its  soil  is 
productive  of  almost  everything  that  grows  outside  of  the 
tropics.  It  has  the  great  ocean  for  its  commerce  with  the 
world.  It  was  admitted  into  the  Union  eight  years  before  Min- 
nesota. Notwithstanding  all  these  apparent  advantages,  Cali- 
fornia has  been  outstripped  by  Minnesota  in  population  and 
general  growth.  The  census  of  1890  gave  California  1,208,130 
people,  while  Minnesota  had  at  the  same  time  1,301,826;  and 
no  doubt  the  last  ten  years  have  widened  the  disparity.  There 
is  no  other  way  to  account  for  this  superiority  on  the  part  of 
Minnesota  than  upon  the  basis  that  our  resources  are  more 
stable  and  permanent  in  their  nature,  presenting  attractions 
to  the  immigrant  to  come  to  us,  and  advantages  sufficient  to 
hold  him  afterward. 


596  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Having  said  all  I  can  in  the  brief  time  allotted  me  to  present 
the  half  century's  growth  of  Minnesota,  I  cannot  round  out  my 
conclusions  better  than  by  slightly  paraphrasing  the  panegyric 
of  Daniel  Webster  on  Massachusetts,  pronounced  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  in  1830. 

Mr.  President,  I  shall  enter  on  no  encomium  of  Minnesota. 
She  needs  none.  There  she  is.  Behold  her,  and  judge  for 
yourselves.  There  are  her  history,  her  resources,  her  enter- 
prise, her  intelligence,  her  growth,  as  I  have  related  them. 
Her  past  is  at  least  secure ;  her  future  depends  upon  the  fidelity 
of  her  people.  I  commit  her  to  your  keeping,  with  hope  undi- 
minished and  confidence  unimpaired. 


Preceding  Judge  Flandrau's  address,  Mrs.  Jane  Huntington 
Yale,  of  St.  Paul,  sang  "The  Song  of  the  Flag"  (by  De  Koven), 
with  piano  accompaniment  by  Mr.  Charles  G-.  Titcomb.  Fol- 
lowing this  address,  the  afternoon  exercises  were  completed 
with  the  singing  of  "Auld  Lang  Syne"  by  the  audience,  led  by 
Mrs.  Yale. 

AULD  LANG  SYNE. 

Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot, 

And  never  brought  to  mind? 
Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot, 

And  days  of  auld  lang  syne  *? 

For  auld  lang  syne,  my  dear, 

For  auld  lang  syne, 
We'll  take  a  cup  of  kindness  yet 

For  auld  lang  syne. 

We  two  have  paddled  o'er  the  wave 

From  morn  till  sun's  decline; 
We'll  have  a  thought  of  kindness  yet 

For  auld  lang  syne. 

For  auld  lang  syne,  etc. 


EVENING  SESSION. 


Captain  Russell  Blakeley,  the  senior  vice  president  of  the 
society,  presided  in  the  evening  session,  which  began  shortly 
after  eight  o'clock.   In  taking  the  chair,  Captain  Blakeley  said: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  It  is  unpleasant  to  me  to  announce 
that  it  is  yery  doubtful  whether  Governor  Ramsey  will  be  here 
this  evening.  He  left  word  that  he  wishes  me  to  preside  if  he 
does  not  come,  and  we  have  waited  now  somewhat  longer  than 
was  expected.  It  will  not  be  my  purpose  to  consume  a  moment 
of  the  time  of  the  audience  this  evening,  except  to  render  my 
unfeigned  thanks  on  behalf  of  the  Historical  Society  for  the  in- 
terest that  you  all  have  manifested  in  attending  these  meetings. 

An  audience  of  about  Hive  hundred  people  was  present  in 
the  afternoon,  and  fully  seven  hundred  in  the  evening.  The 
several  addresses  in  this  session  were  as  follows. 

OPENING  ADDRESS, 


BY    HON.  JOHN  S.  PIIiLSBURY. 


It  is  certainly  very  pleasant  to  meet  so  many  pioneer  settlers* 
of  this  state  who  are  members  of  this  Historical  Society,  and 
who  have  always  taken  so  much  interest  in  the  work  which  this 
institution  has  accomplished.  The  members  and  officers  are 
entitled  to  the  thanks  of  the  people  of  this  state,  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  records  of  the  early  events  of  Minnesota  as  a 
Territory  and  as  a  State.  These  historic  records  will  be  of 
great  value  to  the  future  generations,  who  will  consult  this 
society's  library  for  matters  of  importance  which  cannot  be 
found  elsewhere,  and  which  in  after  years  will  be  invaluable. 


598  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

It  is  said  that  fifty  years  is  but  a  small  period  in  the  life 
of  a  state.  There  are  several  members,  however,  of  this  society 
here  tonight,  who  were  here  before  the  state  or  even  the  terri- 
tory was  organized.  The  character  of  these  early  settlers, 
many  of  them  members  of  this  institution,  gave  shape  largely 
to  the  affairs  and  reputation  which  the  state  now  enjoys.  Had 
it  not  been  for  the  sterling  character  of  these  early  pioneers, 
I  am  sure  that  this  great  commonwealth  would  not  have 
reached  the  high  standing  which  she  now  occupies  among  the 
other  states  of  the  Union. 

The  early  settlement  of  Minnesota  was  slow.  It  had  to  con- 
tend with  many  drawbacks,  because  the  state  was  on  the  ex- 
treme frontier  of  the  country  and  was  considered  almost  worth- 
less for  agricultural  purposes.  General  Hazen,  while  stationed 
at  Fort  Buford,  in  his  report  to  the  United  States  government, 
represented  this  country  to  be  a  portion  of  the  great  American 
desert,  ill  adapted  for  settlement.  The  geographies  used  in 
the  common  schools  also  represented  this  section  to  be  a  part  of 
the  great  American  desert.  Horace  Greeley  and  other  editors 
advised  settlers  to  go  to  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  saying  that 
Minnesota  was  too  far  north.  During  the  contest  which  raged 
at  this  time  as  to  whether  Kansas  and  Nebraska  should  be 
made  free  or  slave  states,  they  advised  settlers  to  go  to  these 
territories  instead  of  Minnesota,  which  was  reputed  to  be  a 
cold  and  barren  country. 

Consequently  settlement  for  many  years  was  slow;  but 
there  was  a  class  of  settlers  who  believed  in  Minnesota.  Some 
of  those  men  are  members  of  this  Society,  and  are  here  tonight. 
They  were  frontier  settlers  of  Wisconsin  Territory,  while  that 
included  a  part  of  what  is  now  Minnesota,  and  were  also  resi- 
dents of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  before  it  was  organized 
into  a  state.  What  is  more  wonderful,  these  men  have  lived 
to  see  that  territory  developed  into  the  states  of  Minnesota  arid 
North  and  South  Dakota,  with  increase  of  population  from  less 
than  five  thousand  in  1849  to  over  two  millions  today.  What 
is  more  remarkable  still,  they  have  lived  to  witness  the  growth, 
in  Minnesota,  of  two  great  cities  of  about  200,000  population 
each.  So  much  cannot  be  said  of  Kansas  or  Nebraska,  or  of 
any  other  state  at  the  end  of  the  first  fifty  years  from  its  admis- 
sion to  the  Union,  or,  I  should  say,  from  the  beginning  of  its 
existence  as  a  territory. 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  599 

General  Sibley  told  me,  before  his  death,  that  he  held  juris- 
diction, as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  oyer  more  territory  than 
any  other  living  man.  While  a  resident  of  Mendota.,  in  1888, 
he  held  jurisdiction  over  a  portion  of  the  present  states  of  Wis- 
consin, Minnesota,  Iowa,  and  North  and  South  Dakota. 

In  1854  there  were  only  five  or  six  school  districts  in  our  ter- 
ritory, and  not  more  than  a  half  dozen  log  schoolhouses,  of 
very  little  value,  with  no  organized  public  school  system.  Then 
we  had  no  public  school  fund.  Today  there  are  upwards  of 
seven  thousand  school  districts,  with  over  ten  thousand  school 
teachers,  to  whom  we  pay  more  than  $3,500,000  in  salaries  an- 
nually. Our  school  buildings  at  this  day  are  valued  at  more 
than  fifteen  million  dollars.  Our  public  schools  have  an  en- 
rollment of  more  than  four  hundred  thousand  pupils;  and  our 
school  system  is  among  the  very  best  in  the  country,  with  a 
permanent  school  fund  which  now  reaches  the  magnificent  sum 
of  thirteen  million  dollars.  We  have  in  addition  a  State  Uni- 
versity at  the  head  of  our  public  school  system,  ranking  second 
only  among  the  state  universities  in  the  country,  with  an  en- 
rollment at  the  present  time  of  upwards  of  thirty-two  hundred 
students. 

Today  Minnesota  is  one  of  the  best  agricultural  and  stock- 
raising  states  in  the  Union.  It  produces  more  and  better  wheat 
than  any  other  state;  and,  what  is  more  remarkable,  it  manu- 
factures more  flour  than  is  manufactured  in  any  other  state  or 
province  on  the  globe,  the  product  for  the  year  ending  Septem- 
ber 1st,  1899,  being  twenty-five  million  barrels,  of  which  fifteen 
million  were  made  in  Minneapolis.  These  facts  give  the  state  a 
wide  reputation  throughout  the  world;  and  this  all  has  been  at- 
tained within  the  memory  of  those  here  tonight.  All  this  we 
have  from  a  country  which  was  pronounced  by  eastern  editors 
worthless  for  settlers. 

The  development  of  our  resources  has  been  rapid,  not  only 
in  the  production  of  wheat  and  the  manufacturing  of  flour, 
but  in  our  mineral  products.  In  1884  we  produced  62,124  tons 
of  iron  ore.  We  shall  supply  the  markets  this  year  with  more 
than  12,000,000  tons  of  the  very  best  of  iron  ore.  To  show  how 
rapidly  the  iron  industry  has  developed,  I  have  only  to  relate 
an  instance  of  what  I  witnessed  a  few  years  since  at  West  Su- 
perior, in  Wisconsin,  adjoining  our  city  of  Duluth.  Two  whale- 
back  steamers  were  to  be  launched,  and  a  large  number  of  our 


QQQ  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

citizens  were  to  witness  the  launching  of  these  great  steamers. 
A  special  train  of  cars  took  us  to  West  Superior,  a  place  which 
trat  a  few  years  before  was  the  roving  ground  for  the  Indians. 
We  found  there  fine  public  buildings,  elegant  sehoolhouses,  nice 
churches,  paved  streets,  good  hotels,  and  some  10,000  enter- 
prising people.  A  large  rolling-mill  had  been  erected  and  was 
manufacturing  125  tons  of  steel  daily,  used  for  the  plating  of 
these  large  whaleback  vessels.  To  our  great  astonishment,  we 
were  informed  that  the  ore  from  which  the  steel  was  manu- 
factured was  lying  in  its  native  soil,  in  the  part  of  Minnesota 
north  of  lake  Superior,  some  six  months  before. 

Not  until  1864  did  we  have  a  mile  of  railroad  within  the 
limits  of  this  state;  today  we  have  thirteen  trunk  lines  of  rail- 
road reaching  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  over  which  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty-five  trains  of  cars  arrive  and  depart  every  twenty- 
four  hours.  A  person  can  now  take  a  seat  in  the  cars  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  and  cross  the  continent  by  the  way  of  Minnesota 
to  the  Pacific  coast  with  but  one  change  of  cars,  and  with  but 
two  changes  can  reach  China  or  Japan. 

Consider  also  the  growth  of  the  mail  service.  In  1850  the 
government  asked  for  proposals  to  carry  the  mails  leaving  St. 
Paul  once  a  week,  on  Sunday,  to  reach  Prairie  du  Chien,  270 
miles  distant,  the  Sunday  following,  and  to  come  back  by  the 
next  Sunday.  The  notice  contained  the  significant  statement, 
that  "more  frequent  supply  will  be  considered."  Compare  that 
service  with  the  service  of  today  and  bow  wonderful  is  the 
change! 

The  number  of  vessels  that  passed  through  the  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  canal  in  1855  was  less  than  100,  with  a  tonnage  of  106,- 
2§6,  the  valuation  of  which  was  less  than  one  million  dollars. 
The  number  of  vessels  that  passed  through  the  canal  in  1898 
was  17,761,  with  a  tonnage  of  21,234,661,  of  the  value  of  $233,- 
069,739.  The  volume  of  business  through  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie 
canal  in  1899  will  be  four  times  that  of  the  business  through 
the  Suez  canal. 

Minnesota  as  a  producer  of  wealth  during  the  half  century 
past  has  forged  ahead  so  rapidly  that  today  she  outranks  those 
states  which  came  into  the  Union  about  the  time  she  was  ad- 
mitted. Her  valuation  of  property  did  not  exceed  fifteen  mill- 
ions in  1850;  today  her  valuation  is  upwards  of  f  600,000,000, 
and  as  a  wealth-producing  state  she  ranks  well  up  with  the 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  QQl 

leading  states  In  the  Union.  For  the  proof  of  this  statement, 
I  shall  only  have  to  cite  the  fact  that  the  annual  value  of  our 
wheat  product  is  nearly  as  great  as  one-half  of  all  the  gold 
annually  mined  in  the  United  States. 

Our  state  has  been  highly  honored  by  the  appointment  of 
two  of  her  distinguished  citizens  to  cabinet  positions  under 
the  presidents  of  the  United  States.  Under  President  Hayes 
our  distinguished  citizen  and  president  of  this  society,  Gover- 
nor Ramsey,  served  as  Secretary  of  War.  Senator  Windom 
served  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with  signal  success,  in 
President  Garfield's  cabinet,  and  also  in  the  cabinet  of  Presi- 
dent Harrison.  In  one  of  the  greatest  international  complica- 
tions of  this  half  century,  Minnesota  is  again  honored  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States  in  the  appointment  of  our  dis- 
tinguished senator,  O.  K.  Davis,  as  one  of  a  commission  to  ad- 
just our  difficulties  with  Spain  and  to  effect  a  treaty  with  that 
government. 

The  people  of  Minnesota,  when  taking  a  retrospective  view 
of  the  past  half  century,  have  great  reason  to  be  thankful  for 
the  progress  that  has  been  made  in  every  direction  during  that 
period;  thaftkful  that  our  State  has  always  been  ready  to 
render  loyal  service  to  the  general  government  in  defense  of 
our  common  country;  thankful,  also,  that  our  people  are  living 
under  the  laws  of  the  most  liberal  and  beneficent  government 
ever  devised,  and  at  the  same  time  sufficiently  powerful  to 
guarantee  to  the  most  humble  citizen  ample  protection  of  life, 
liberty,  and  the  possession  of  property. 

It  has  been  truly  said  that,  next  to  the  love  for  one's  home, 
is  the  love  for  one's  state  and  country.  We  who  have  lived  in 
the  state  of  Minnesota  have  rejoiced  to  see  the  development 
of  the  resources  of  our  state,  and  her  growth  in  everything  re- 
lating to  the  interests  of  her  people.  We  have  watched  the 
pioneer  fell  the  tree,  plough  the  furrow,  and  build  the  school- 
house  and  the  church.  In  all  this,  through  seasons  of  prosper- 
ity and  seasons  of  adversity  and  discouragement,  our  attach- 
ment to  our  state  and  our  pride  in  our  state  have  never  failed. 
The  state  of  Minnesota  has  steadily  advanced  in  prosperity; 
she  is  rich  in  the  bounties  which  nature  has  bestowed  upon  her, 
rich  in  lakes,  in  forests,  in  mines,  and  in  her  broad  prairies. 
Progress  and  hopefulness  in  the  development  of  her  many  re- 
sources are  on  every  side;  everywhere  order,  thrift,  and  con- 
tentment prevail. 


EDUCATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  IN  MIN- 
NESOTA DURING  THE  PAST  FIFTY  YEARS. 


BY  CYRUS  NOBTeiROP,  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  STATE 
UNIVERSITY. 


The  great  work  of  the  present  generation  is  to  prepare  the 
coming  generation  to  take  our  places.  The  progress  of  civili- 
zation is  assured  when  it  is  certain  that  the  men  and  the 
women  of  the  future  will  be  in  all  respects  superior  to  their 
predecessors.  The  reliance  of  the  present  age  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  work  is  largely  on  schools  and  colleges.  It 
is  therefore  an  interesting  task:  to  look  back  on  the  educa- 
tional situation  fifty  years  ago  and  to  compare  it  with  the 
situation  now. 

THE    COMMON  SCHOOLS. 

Fifty  years  ago  the  chief  institutions  of  education  were  the 
common  school,  the  academy,  and  the  college.  The  common 
school  was  not  free  to  all  without  payment  of  school  rates. 
The  studies  pursued  in  the  common  schools  were  reading,  spell- 
ing, writing,  arithmetic,  geography,  and  grammar.  Webster's 
spelling  book  was  an  essential  work.  First  the  alphabet  must 
be  learned,  letter  by  letter,  a  process  long  and  laborious  for 
some  scholars,  and  very  trying  to  the  teacher.  Then  came 
"a  b,  ab,"  then  "cat"  and  "dog,"  and  after  a. while  a  notable 
advance  was  made  to  "baker;"  and  from  that  to  the  trium- 
phant spelling  in  class  of  "incomprehensibility"  was  a  long 
educational  journey.  It  did  not  matter  very  much  when  there 
was  so  little  to  be  learned  beyond.  But  the  process  did  make 
better  spellers  than  the  average  of  college  students  today. 

Now  the  little  child  first  learns  to  read,  and  afterward 
learns  his  letters.    In  two  months  he  can  learn  to  read  with  a 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  503 

knowledge  of  the  sound  of  the  letters,  without  any  knowledge 
of  their  names.  Now  he  is  to  a  large  extent  put  into  graded 
schools,  and  each  grade  has  its  own  specific  work  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  next. 

The  old  common  school  (and  for  that  matter  the  common 
school  of  today  is  like  it)  was  not  graded.  It  had  one  teacher 
for  all  work,  from  the  alphabet  up  to  grammar, — in  summer, 
a  more  or  less  intelligent  young  lady  who  wanted  to  earn  a 
little  money  before  getting  married,  and  in  winter  a  man  who 
had  been  working  on  a  farm  or  at  something  else  during  the 
summer,  and  who,  having  no  regular  employment  in  winter, 
was  glad  to  find  occupation  in  teaching.  I  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  these  were  poor  teachers — they  were  not  such  always, — 
but  they  were  not  trained  teachers.  By  the  light  of  their 
experience  they  did  as  well  as  they  could  with  the  knowledge 
they  had,  sometimes  succeeding  and  sometimes  not.  Very 
few  of  their  scholars  expected  to  go  to  the  academy  or  the  col- 
lege. Their  work  therefore  was  circumscribed  within  definite 
limits,  and  only  the  brightest  of  the  scholars  ever  advanced  so 
far  as  to  be  masters  of  grammar  and  arithmetic.  Practically, 
then,  the  common  education  of  fifty  years  ago  included  little 
more  than  reading,  writing,  spelling,  geography,  and  the  sim- 
pler parts  of  arithmetic. 

ACADEMIES. 

But  there  were  academies  for  students  desiring  to  go  fur- 
ther in  their  learning  than  the  common  school  could  carry 
them.  These  were  sometimes  endowed  institutions,  like  Phil- 
lips Academy  at  Andover,  Mass.,  another  Phillips  Academy  at 
Exeter,  N.  H.,  and  the  Hopkins  Grammar  Schools  at  New 
Haven  and  at  Hartford,  Conn.  Sometimes  they  were  private 
institutions  without  endowment.  Their  aim  in  all  cases  was  to 
fit  students  for  college  if  any  of  their  students  desired  to  go  to 
college,  and  to  prepare  the  larger  number  of  their  pupils  who 
would  finish  their  education  in  the  academy  for  somewhat 
higher  and  better  work  than  they  could  otherwise  do.  The 
range  of  studies  included  Latin,  Greek,  and  mathematics,  as  a 
preparation  for  college,  and  a  review  of  grammar  and  arithme- 
tic, with  higher  work  in  the  same  than  could  be  found  in  the 
common    schools.     Sometimes    book-keeping    and    surveying 


g04  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

were  added,  if  the  principal  happened  to  be  able  to  teach  these. 
Practically  no  science  was  taught.  Possibly  a  little  of  natural 
philosophy  and  of  astronomy  might  find  a  place  in  the  curricu- 
lum of  some  academies;  but  most  of  them  were  destitute  alike 
of  laboratories,  apparatus,  and  scientific  teachers. 

Many  of  these  academies  were  taught  by  more  or  less 
broken  down  clergymen,  who  were  not  wanting  in  earnestness 
and  fidelity,  and  who  made  a  lasting  impression  on  their  pupils, 
but  all  of  whose  work  was  limited  by  the  character  of  the 
training  they  themselves  had  received.  I  am  bound  to  speak 
with  respect  and  admiration  both  of  the  work  done  by  these 
teachers  in  the  academies  and  of  the  results  as  shown  in  the 
lives  of  their  pupils.  What  they  did  they  did  thoroughly  and 
well.  Education  for  them  was  not  a  process  of  cramming,  but 
of  training.  They  were  not  trying  to  see  how  many  things  and 
how  much  of  many  subjects  they  could  make  their  pupils  un- 
derstand and  remember.  On  the  contrary,  they  dealt  with 
few  studies,  and  they  made  thorough  work  of  those  according 
to  the  idea  of  the  time.  They  built  up  character.  They  awak- 
ened enthusiasm.  They  taught  boys  to  think, — and  there  re- 
sulted a  more  virile,  independent,  self-reliant  class  of  scholars 
and  men  than  are  usually  produced  by  the  educational  proc- 
esses of  the  present  day.  They  faithfully  served  their  pur- 
pose in  filling  the  gap  between  the  common  school  and  the 
college,  and  they  made  life  to  thousands  who  could  never  go  to 
college  a  sweeter  and  nobler  thing  than  it  would  have  been  but 
for  their  training. 

COLLEGES. 

The  same  in  substance  might  be  said  of  the  college  fifty 
years  ago.  It  did  good  work  and  produced  good  results,  but 
its  range  of  studies  was  narrow.  During  the  first  two  years  it 
carried  on  exclusively  Latin,  Greek,  and  mathematics.  Dur- 
ing the  last  two  years  it  gave  instruction  in  political  economy, 
psychology,  logic,  history  to  a  very  small  extent,  astronomy, 
natural  philosophy,  geology,  and  chemistry,  but  without  any 
practice  in  laboratories.  It  had  practically  no  instruction  in 
literature,  in  biology,  or  in  modern  languages.  Its  library  was 
accessible  only  at  stated  times,  and  then  not  for  research  but 
to  draw  out  a  book.     Its  curriculum  of  the  junior  and  senior 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  605 

years  was  enriched  with  more  Latin  and  Greek  if  desired.  It 
had  no  sociology,  no  psychology  except  the  results  of  intro- 
spection. It  was  a  bare,  rugged  skeleton,  without  flesh,  skin, 
or  beauty;  and  the  wonder  is  that  it  could  contain  life  as  it 
did.  Such  as  it  was,  it  drew  to  itself  a  few  hundreds  of  young 
men,  ambitious  to  enter  what  were  called  the  learned  profes- 
sions, and  yery  few  others.  Schools  of  science  were  few  and  all 
of  them  young;  and  business  men  rarely  thought  of  the  college 
as  a  preparation  for  their  work. 

Apparatus  for  teaching  was  insignificant.  A  student  in 
astronomy  might  possibly  get  a  chance  to  look  at  the  moon 
through  an  inferior  telescope;  the  class  in  chemistry  could 
look  on,  while  the  professor  performed  various  more  or  less 
successful  experiments  with  his  chemicals;  the  class  in  natural 
philosophy  could  see  how  an  old  air-pump,  Atwood's  machine, 
and  a  few  other  things,  worked;  and  the  class  in  geology  could 
see  the  various  kinds  of  stones  and  minerals,  and  handle  them 
if  so  disposed.  But  it  was  all  lecture  and  text-book  work; 
nothing  was  learned  by  personal  experiment,  and  by  doing  for 
one's  self  the  things  which  were  exhibited  by  the  professors  in 
their  experiments.  As  a  result,  the  men  were  rare  who  had 
any  knowledge  of  science  that  was  worth  much.  In  shorf, 
most  men  came  out  of  college  about  as  it  was  intended  that 
they  should,  not  knowing  much,  but  trained  to  study  and  fully 
capable  of  mastering  other  subjects  in  future  if  they  got  a 
chance. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  OUR  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM. 

The  Hon.  W.  T.  Harris,  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Education,  has  said  that  "by  common  consent  the  teachers  of 
the  United  States  would  choose  Massachusetts  as  the  state 
possessing  the  most  interesting  educational  history."  How 
numerous  and  important  are  the  educational  problems  which 
Massachusetts  has  solved  for  her  own  good,  and  incidentally 
for  the  good  of  other  states,  will  clearly  appear  from  an  enu- 
meration of  some  of  the  most  important,  as  given  by  Mr.  Har- 
ris. "The  adoption  of  a  course  of  study  and  the  fixing  of  the 
amount  of  instruction  to  be  given  in  each  branch,  and  the 
time  when  it  is  best  to  begin  it;  the  relative  position  of  the 
disciplinary  and  the  information  studies;  the  use  and  disuse  of 


5Q5  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

corporal  punishment;  the  education  of  girls;  written  examina- 
tions; the  grading  of  schools;  the  relation  of  principal  and 
assistant  teachers;  professional  instruction  in  normal  schools; 
religious  instruction;  unsectarian  moral  instruction,  and  secu- 
lar instruction;  the  separation  of  church  and  state;  government 
by  centralized  power,  and  then  by  distribution  of  power  to 
districts,  realizing  the  extreme  of  local  self  government,  and 
then  the  recovery  of  central  authority;  public  high  schools, 
and  private  academies ;  coeducation  and  separate  education  of 
the  sexes;  educational  support  by  tuition  fees,  rate  bills, 
general  taxation  and  local  taxation;  general  and  local  super- 
vision by  committees  and  by  experts ;  educational  associations 
and  teachers'  institutes;  large  and  small  school  buildings  and 
their  division  into  rooms,  their  heating,  ventilation,  and  light- 
ing; evening  schools,  kindergartens,  industrial  art  instruction, 
free  text  books, — all  these  problems  have  been  agitated  in 
Massachusetts." 

Many  of  these  problems  had  been  solved  fifty  years  ago, 
but  some  of  the  most  important  did  not  find  a  solution  till 
some  time  within  the  last  half  century.  How  persistent  the 
conservative  element  has  been  in  resisting  changes  may  be 
seen  in  "the  long  battle  against  the  district  system,  lasting  over 
fifty  years,"  with  six  victories  won  alternately  by  the  opposing 
factions,  until  at  last  the  opponents  of  the  district  system  won 
a  final  victory  in  1882  and  the  district  system  was  abolished, 
only  forty-five  towns  out  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  having  re- 
tained it  up  to  that  time.  From  the  experience  of  Massachu- 
setts the  other  New  England  states  and  many  western  states 
largely  settled  by  New  England  people  learned  wisdom,  and 
were  able  to  settle  their  educational  policy  wisely  without 
passing  through  the  contention  and  experiments  by  which  Mas- 
sachusetts had  felt  out  her  course. 

Fifty  years  ago  the  district  school  was  still  in  its  glory  in  a 
large  part  of  New  England.  "Each  school  district,"  as  a  writer 
has  said,  "became  a  center  of  semi-political  activity.  Here 
was  exhibited,  in  all  its  force,  what  Guizot  so  aptly  terms  'the 
energy  of  local  liberty.'  The  violence  of  ebullition  is  inversely 
as  the  size  of  the  pot.  Questions  involving  the  fate  of  nations 
have  been  decided  with  less  expenditure  of  time,  less  stirring  of 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  QQf 

passions,  less  vociferation  of  declamation  and  denunciation, 
than  the  location  of  a  fifteen  by  twenty  district  schoolhouse.  I 
liave  known  such  a  question  to  call  for  ten  district  meetings, 
scattered  over  two  years,  bringing  down  from  mountain  farms 
three  miles  away  men  who  had  no  children  to  be  schooled,  and 
who  had  not  taken  the  trouble  to  vote  in  a  presidential  election 
during  the  period." 

These  were  not  the  only  contests.  The  district  committee 
was  an  important  matter.  This  committee  could  usually  hire 
the  teacher,  and  either  because  some  family  was  angry  at  the 
teacher,  or  because  some  other  family  had  a  relative  whom 
they  desired  for  teacher,  there  was  constant  and  sometimes 
acrimonious  contention  over  the  election  of  the  school  com- 
mittee. 

But  on  one  point  there  was  entire  harmony.  This  I  know 
both  by  my  own  observation  and  the  testimony  of  others.  This 
point  was  as  to  what  was  essential  for  the  site  of  a  schoolhouse. 
"The  land  must  be  valueless,  or  as  nearly  so  as  possible,  for 
frugality  was  ever  a  New  England  virtue.  A  barren  ledge  by 
the  roadside,  a  gravelly  knoll,  the  steeply  sloping  side  of  a 
bosky  ravine,  the  apex  of  the  angle  of  intersecting  roads,  such 
as  these  were  choice  spots."  The  schoolhouse  where  I  first 
went  to  school,  in  Connecticut,  stood  in  such  an  angle  where 
four  roads  converged  or  diverged,  the  inclosed  space  being  in 
the  highest  degree  rocky;  and  the  schoolhouse  stands  there  to- 
day, the  building  somewhat  better  than  its  predecessor,  but 
the  environment  substantially  as  it  was,  the  site  of  the  school- 
house  not  having  cost  the  district  a  penny  for  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years. 

Of  the  rude  equipment  of  the  schoolhouse,  the  absence  of 
desks  and  chairs,  the  absence  of  every  thing  conducive  to  com- 
fort except  the  chance  to  learn  such  elementary  subjects  as  the 
untrained  teacher  was  able  to  teach,  I  need  not  speak.  It  is 
a  wonder  that  so  much  was  accomplished,  where  so  little  was 
expended  to  make  learning  either  attractive  or  possible. 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  speak  at  length  of  the  teachers 
of  the  district  schools,  whether  men  or  women,  whether  ugly 
or  sweet,  whether  experienced  or  fresh.  I  have  already  indi- 
cated the  range  of  study  in  these  schools.  It  is  customary,  I 
believe,  to  regard  these  district  schools  as  mighty  factors  in 


g()8  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  production  of  a  noble  generation  of  clear-thinking  and  in- 
telligent men.  Undoubtedly  there  were  many  such  men  fifty 
years  ago,  and  undoubtedly  the  district  school  had  something 
to  do  with  making  them  what  they  were.  That  is,  the  district 
school  started  them  towards  their  career.  As  some  one  has 
said:  "The  power  and  majesty  with  which  the  Mississippi 
sweeps  by  New  Orleans  to  the  Gulf  were  not  brought  by  it  out 
sof  lake  Itasca.  But  lei  us  give  the  lake  credit  for  what  it  did 
do, — it  set  the  rill  a  flowing.  So  did  the  district  school.  It 
gave  the  key  to  the  world's  literature.  What  that  key  was 
worth,  depended  on  the  use  made  of  it." 

If  there  had  been  nothing  more  invigorating  fifty  years 
ago  than  the  district  school,  the  children  could  not  have  known 
much,  for  little  was  taught;  and  they  could  not  have  had  very 
lofty  ideals,  for  none  were  to  be  found  in  the  district  schools. 
As  the  intellectual  life  of  a  majority  of  the  people  was  bounded 
by  these  schools,  the  vigor  of  the  age  must  have  been  small 
indeed  but  for  forces  outside,  forces  to  which  I  can  only  allude, 
— the  pulpit,  religion,  religious  thought,  argument  on  high 
themes  of  state  and  of  future  destiny,  being  a  few  of  the  most 
potent. 

Happily  for  the  boy  with  a  bright  mind,  a  taste  for  knowl- 
edge, and  an  ambition  to  be  and  to  do  something  more  than 
his  sluggish  school-mates,  there  opened  that  gate  to  all  possi- 
bilities, the  old-fashioned  country  academy.  There  he  could  be- 
gin studies  that  would  lead  to  the  college,  studies  of  which  the 
district  school  never  dreamed.  And  these  New  England  acade- 
mies, narrow  in  their  scope,  compared  with  our  high  schools, 
but  intense  and  thorough,  transformed  tens  of  thousands  of 
men  who  could  not  go  to  college  into  able  and  influential  public 
men,  and  gave  a  breadth  to  culture  in  the  community  that  the 
colleges  alone  could  never  have  produced. 

Duminer  Academy,  the  first  of  the  noble  company,  founded 
in  1761,  educated  under  its  first  master  fifteen  members  of  Con- 
gress, two  chief  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  one  president 
of  Harvard  College,  and  four  college  professors.  The  record  of 
Leicester,  Munson,  Williston,  Andover,  and  a  multitude  of 
other  schools  of  the  same  type,  would  show  results  quite  as  in- 
teresting and  creditable. 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  gQ9 

Of  course,  every  boy  who  went  to  an  academy  had  to  pay 
tuition.  There  was  no  free  education  of  so  high  a  type  as  that 
furnished  by  the  academy.  Of  course,  also,  as  a  consequence 
it  was  only  the  sons  of  the  wealthier  class,  at  least  it  was  very 
rarely  the  sons  of  the  very  poor,  who  went  to  the  academy. 

If  that  state  of  things  had  continued  to  the  present  time, 
the  sharply  defined  distinction  of  classes  at  the  present  day 
would  be  very  much  more  evident  than  it  is.  For  nothing  has 
done  so  much  to  rub  out  the  lines  of  separation  among  our  peo- 
ple as  free  public  education  from  primary  school  to  university. 

This  magnificent  system  of  public  education,  free  to  all,  is 
wholly  the  development  of  the  last  half  century;  and  nowhere 
does  it  exist  in  nobler  form  or  with  more  beneficent  influence 
than  here  in  the  Northwest.  By  a  well  arranged  order  of 
schools  of  different  grades,  the  children  of  the  state  are  enabled 
to  advance  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  grade  without  inter- 
ruption and  without  hindrance  because  of  charges  for  tuition. 
The  high  schools,  coming  into  existence  about  thirty  years  ago, 
and  multiplying  everywhere  until  they  cover  the  country  far 
better  than  the  academies  ever  covered  even  New  England,  not 
only  furnish  to  all  their  students  an  education  quite  equal  to 
that  of  the  colleges  not  so  very  many  years  ago,  but  they  fit 
them  in  an  admirable  manner  for  the  larger  work  of  the  mod- 
ern university. 

NORMAL   SCHOOLS.  ! 

It  is  only  sixty  years  since  the  first  normal  school  was  es- 
tablished in  this  country  for  the  systematic  training  of  teach- 
ers. Up  to  that  time  teaching  had  not  been  regarded  as  an 
art  for  acquiring  which  special  training  was  needed.  Knowl- 
edge was  imparted  in  various  ways  according  to  the  taste  and 
temperament  of  the  teacher.  Such  things  as  method  and  sci- 
ence to  be  used  in  ordinary  teaching  were  unknown.  While 
the  object  of  teaching  was  to  enlighten,  fructify,  and  stimulate 
the  mind  of  the  pupil,  no  one  thought  of  making  the  mind  of 
the  pupil  a  study  in  order  to  know  how  best  to  affect  it. 

Systematically  trained  teachers  would  have  been  an  incal- 
culable blessing  in  the  olden  time,  when  the  things  to  be  taught 
and  the  pupils  to  be  instructed  were  alike  comparatively  few. 
In  the  present  age,  with  the  multitude  of  subjects,  and  with 

39 


610  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

pupils  as  the  sand  upon  the  seashore  in  numbers,  such  trained 
teachers  are  indispensable.  Normal  schools  have  multiplied  in 
the  last  thirty  years;  and  trained  teachers,  of  whom  fifty  years 
ago  there  were  but  a  few  hundred,  are  now  to  be  found  by  the 
tens  of  thousands.  Those  of  them  who  have  a  knowledge  of 
the  subjects  to  be  taught,  as  well  as  of  the  right  methods  of 
teaching,  are  doing  a  work  which  fully  justifies  all  that  has 
been  done  for  normal  schools. 

INSTRUCTION  IN   SCIENCES. 

Perhaps  in  no  more  striking  way  can  I  illustrate  the  prog- 
ress in  education,  particularly  in  the  teaching  of  sciences,  than 
by  a  comparison  of  the  apparatus  and  methods  in  use  in  some 
particular  sciences  fifty  years  ago  and  now.  I  select  for  this 
purpose  Natural  Philosophy,  a  science  well  developed  a  half 
century  ago,  and  Botany,  a  science  of  later  development  I 
have  asked  the  professors  in  charge  of  these  subjects  in  the 
University  of  Minnesota  to  prepare  statements,  and  what  im- 
mediately follows  is  their  report  upon  their  respective  depart- 
ments, i 

PHYSIOS.  ! 

Professor  Frederick  S.  Jones,  of  the  Chair  of  Physics,  says: 
The  science  of  modern  Physics  may  be  said  to  have  grown  from 
infancy  to  maturity  during  the  first  sixty  years  of  the  present  century. 
During  this  period  more  important  discoveries  in  physical  science  were 
made  than  in  any  other  equal  period  of  its  history,  and  they  justified 
the  differentiation  of  the  old  science  of  Natural  Philosophy  into  its  con- 
stituent parts,  of  which  Physics  is  one  of  the  most  important. 

Without  attempting  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  all  that  was  ac- 
complished, it  will  be  of  interest  to  note  some  of  the  most  remarkable 
points.  In  1800,  Volta  closed  his  acrimonious  debate  with  Galvani, 
and  gave  to  the  world  the  electric  battery.  This  marks  a  turning  point 
in  the  history  of  electrical  science.  Davy  immediately  proceeded  to  ob- 
tain sodium,  potassium,  and  many  other  metals,  by  electrical  methods; 
he  discovered  the  voltaic  arc,  and  the  electric  light  was  the  result. 
Oersted  announced  the  action  of  electric  currents  on  magnets;  Ohm 
and  Ampere  formulated  and  proved  the  laws  which  form  the  basis  of 
the  mathematical  theory  of  electricity;  Young  and  Presnel  established 
the  undulatory  theory  of  light;  Carnot,  Helmholtz,  Joule,  and  Mayer, 
gave  exact  form  to  the  laws  of  the  conservation  of  energy  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  thermodynamics;  Kircbhoff  invented  the  spectroscope  and 
analyzed  the  sun's  light;  and  Faraday,  the  scientific  Nestor  of  them 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  Q\1 

all,  discovered  electrical  induction  and  made  possible  the  modern  ap- 
plications of  the  dynamo,  the  motor,  the  telephone,  and  the  electric 
light  All  this  accumulation  of  knowledge  had  to  be  formulated,  put 
into  tangible  and  teachable  form,  and  given  to  the  student  of  science; 
and  it  necessitated  a  radical  change  in  methods  of  instruction,  and  an 
enormous  increase  in  apparatus,  books,  and  accessories.  It  made  the' 
modern  physical  laboratory  a  necessity  in  every  educational  institution. 
Fifty  years  ago  the  ordinary  lecture  on  Natural  Philosophy  was^ 
almost  entirely  devoid  of  practical  illustration  and  therefore  apt  to  be- 
unintelligible.  Great  scientific  truths  had  to  be  taken  on  faith,  for  the- 
student  had  no  chance  to  verify  by  personal  experiment.  A  meager 
supply"  of  the  most  primitive  instruments  constituted  the  "cabinet"  of 
the  ordinary  academy  or  college.  Some  idea  of  the  utter  poverty  of 
American  colleges  in  instrumental  appliances  may  be  had  from  the  re- 
port of  the  President  of  Harvard  College,  made  in  1865,  in  which  he 
said:  "A  new  hall  should  be  erected,  suitable  for  the  accommodating 
of  the  Hollis  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  and  the  Rumford  Pro- 
fessor of  Applied  Science.  At  the  same  time  there  is  urgent  need  that 
both  these  professorships  have  additional  endowments,  neither  having 
any  income  whatever  for  the  supply  of  illustrative  apparatus  or  ma- 
chinery. The  professors  have  even  been  compelled  to  borrow  articles 
from  the  factories  and  shops  and  return  them  at  the  close  of  the 
lecture;  and  five  courses  have  been  given  without  any  illustrative  ap- 
paratus whatever.  The  special  departments  of  Literature,  the  Greek 
and  Latin  classics,  English  belles  lettres,  and  pure  mathematics,  have 
moderate  endowments;  but  the  modern  physical  sciences  exist  in  vain 
for  the  Harvard  student  or  professor,  unless  he  chance  to  have  private 
means  of  large  amount." 

At  that  time  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School  offered  no  instruction 
whatever  in  Physics;  although  it  did  give  its  students  the  privilege 
of  attending  these  experimental  lectures.  A  physical  laboratory  was 
unknown  at  Harvard  for  the  next  ten  years,  and  at  Yale  for  the  next 
twenty  years.  But  such  conditions  could  not  long  exist.  The  subject 
to  be  taught  was  too  rich  and  complex,  and  its  application  to  the  needs 
of  civilized  life  too  important;  the  physical  laboratory  and  the  properly 
equipped  lecture-room  became  necessities  in  every  college,  and  even  in 
the  high  schools  and  academies. 

During  the  past  twenty  years  the  erection  of  appropriate  buildings 
for  physical  investigation  has  gone  steadily  on,  and  elaborate  instru- 
mental equipments  have  replaced  the  old  philosophical  cabinets.  One 
of  the  most  recent  creations,  the  McGill  laboratory,  built  and  equipped 
at  a  cost  of  $350,000,  represents  more  than  the  entire  value  of  philo- 
sophical apparatus  in  all  the  American  colleges  of  fifty  years  ago.  The 
total  valuation  of  scientific  apparatus  in  American  colleges  now  ex- 
ceeds $16,000,000,  and  is  constantly  increasing.  Faraday's  experiments- 
were  not  repeated  to  any  extent  in  teaching  physics  even  twenty  years 
after  their  publication;  but  Roentgen's  famous  X-ray  work  in  1896  was 


612  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

reproduced  before  every  college  audience  in  the  country  within  two 
months  of  the  date  of  its  announcement,  the  tendency  of  modern 
laboratories  being  to  keep  their  equipment  fully  abreast  of  scientific 
discovery. 

Such  has  been  the  progress  in  the  science  of  physics  during  the  past 
half  century.  The  instrumental  and  library  facilities  of  the  early  fifties 
bear  about  the  same  relation  to  those  of  the  present  time,  as  did  Gal- 
vani's  twitching  frog  to  the  exquisite  electrical  mechanism  of  modern 
times.  The  causes  for  the  advance  are,  first,  the  general  improvement 
in  teaching  all  branches  of  knowledge;  second,  the  impetus  given  by 
practical  applications  of  electricity;  and,  third,  the  achievements  of  the 
preceding  half  century,  which  required  experimental  illustration  and 
elucidation. 

BOTANY. 

Professor  Conway  MacMillan,  of  the  Chair  of  Botany,  says : 

The  science  of  Botany  is  of  modern  development.  Fifty  years  ago 
it  did  not  exist;  nor  was  it  possible  for  it  to  be  born  until  the  epoch- 
marking  discovery  of  a  primal  living  substance  common  to  plants  and 
animals.  Up  to  that  time  plants  were  of  interest  almost  solely  for 
their  various  medicinal  or  other  economic  relations.  Suddenly  they 
were  discovered  to  be  relatives  of  man  and  became  interesting  for  their 
own  sake.  The  studies  of  Hoffmeister  and  Darwin,  looking  toward  a 
unification  of  plant  and  animal  development,  served  to  strengthen  the 
position  that  plants  had  acquired  upon  the  discovery  of  protoplasm. 

From  that  time,  about  fifty  years  ago,  it  became  a  matter  of  alto- 
gether secondary  importance  to  decide  what  specific  names  should  be 
applied  to  plants.  The  botany  of  Tournefort,  Linnaeus,  Bentham,  and 
Gray,  concerning  itself  principally  with  petal-counting,  with  systematic 
arrangement,  with  species  description,  and  with  bibliographic  research 
into  questions  of  nomenclature,  was  recognized  to  be  a  merely  mechani- 
cal process,  useful  in  botanical  institutions  just  as  a  card  catalogue 
is  useful  in  a  library,  but  having  little  or  no  relation  to  a  real  scientific 
inquiry  into  plant-life.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  identification  of  species, 
the  collection  of  herbaria,  and  the  revision  of  nomenclature,  which  were 
to  Linnseus  almost  the  whole  of  botany,  are  not  now  considered  by  the 
best  informed  to  be  botanical  science  at  all.  Yet  so  persistent  are  the 
notions  of  the  past  that  even  today  in  many  institutions  herbalism  still 
passes  for  botany.  Hence  it  is  common  to  hear  that  Linnseus  was  the 
father  of  botany.  This  is  not  true.  Linnseus  was  the  father  of  plant 
nomenclature;  but  Von  Mohl  and  Hoffmeister,  Knight  and  Senebier, 
were  the  fathers  of  botany. 

Modern  botany,  in  its  pure  form,  bases  itself  upon  the  dictum, 
"Plants  are  alive;  they  are  worthy  of  study" ;  and,  in  its  economic  form, 
takes  its  stand  upon  the  proposition,  "Plants  are  human  food-supply,  the 
human  shelter,  and  the  human  environment;  they  should  he  understood  and 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  g^3 

fully  utilized"  As  a  preliminary  to  all  this,  they  may  properly  enough 
be  named  and  classified,  and  even  preserved  in  herbaria  and  museums 
as  objects  of  interest.  But  taxonomy,  as  the  old  botany  is  now  termed, 
has  after  all  only  a  subsidiary  interest 

The  divisions  of  pure  botanical  science  are  these:  the  study  of 
structure,  or  morphology;  the  study  of  function,  or  physiology;  the 
study  of  development,  or  embryology;  the  study  of  environmental  re- 
lations, or  ecology;  the  study  of  positions  on  the  earth's  crust,  or  dis- 
tribution. 

Of  economic  botany  some  principal  divisions  are  horticulture,  agri- 
culture, pharmacognosy,  forestry,  arboriculture,  fiber  culture,  landscape 
gardening,  bacteriology,  plant  pathology,  and  plant  breeding. 

There  are,  moreover,  many  special  fields  that  lend  themselves  to 
ready  definition:  thus  algology  is  the  science  of  algae;  mycology,  the 
science  of  fungi;  bryology,  the  science  of  mosses;  pteridology,  the 
science  of  ferns;  cytology,  the  science  of  the  cell;  anatomy,  the  science 
of  tissues;  plant  paleontology,  the  science  of  past  vegetation;  semi- 
nology,  the  science  of  seeds;  and  a  hundred  other  "ologies,"  limited  in 
their  relation  to  the  general  subject,  but  fast  becoming  unlimited  in 
their  literature,  their  technique,  their  application,  and  their  contents. 

So  broad  is  the  field  of  modern  botany  that  a  student  may  work 
throughout  his  college  course,  through  his  years  of  graduate  study  to 
his  doctorate,  and  during  all  his  life  as  a  professional  investigator  and 
teacher,  without  ever  needing  to  refer  to  the  works  of  Linnseus,  and 
without  ever  "analyzing  a  flower  or  collecting  a  herbarium  specimen." 

Under  the  modern  conditions  the  maintenance  of  a  botanical  insti- 
tute becomes  a  complex  matter.  There  must  be  museums,  herbaria, 
libraries,  publications,  expeditions,  gardens,  lectures,  laboratory  exer- 
cises, seminars,  and  journal  clubs.  The  machinery  of  the  chemist  and 
the  physicist,  of  the  engineer,  the  architect,  the  artist,  and  the  elec- 
trician, may  be  drawn  upon.  Thousands  of  chemical  reagents  must  be 
kept  in  stock.  Hundreds  of  machines  and  utensils,  such  as  microscopes, 
clinostats,  thermostats,  recording  apparatus,  microtomes,  thermome- 
ters, barometers,  spectroscopes,  ovens,  paraffine  baths,  freezing  cham- 
bers, incubators,  air  pumps,  filter  pumps,  auxanometers,  dynamometers, 
projection  apparatus,  photographic  appliances,  card  catalogues,  biblio- 
graphic conveniences,  dialyzers,  glassware,  and  tubing,  must  be  con- 
stantly on  hand.  A  systematic  collection  of  paraphernalia  is  absolutely 
necessary  before  the  plant  can  be  questioned  and  its  secrets  of  struc- 
ture, of  function,  and  development,  can  be  unveiled. 

The  director  of  a  botanical  institution  must  keep  everything  swing- 
ing in  union  to  accomplish  his  best  work.  Illustrative  material  for  dis- 
section, for  comparison,  for  experiment,  and  for  demonstration,  must 
be  accessible  at  the  "psychological  moment"  in  his  lecture  or  in  his 
laboratory  instruction.  The  periodical  literature  in  his  specialty,  num- 
bering now  some  hundreds  of  regular  journals,  must  be  at  hand. 


614  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

It  is  the  function  of  the  modern  botanical  institute  not  to  analyze 
flowers,  not  to  stimulate  a  dilettante  interest  in  the  field  and  meadows, 
not  to  accumulate  innumerable  desiccated  curios  of  plant  life,  not  to 
affix  Latin  names  to  defenceless  vegetation;  but  to  be  ready  to  push 
forward  the  scientific  investigation  of  those  microcosms,  the  plants, 
and  to  help  others  to  probe  nearer  the  secret  of  their  existence.  All 
this  looks  toward  the  advancement  of  human  knowledge  and  the  up- 
lifting and  broadening  of  human  life. 

After  having  been  begun  as  an  amusement,  continued  as  a  purveyor 
of  drugs  to  the  medical  profession,  developed  for  a  time  as  a  systematic 
classification  of  natural  objects,  Botany  fifty  years  ago  took  its  place 
as  a  branch  of  the  science  of  life.  In  its  field  are  being  solved  some  of 
the  questions  of  deepest  moment  to  the  human  race.  In  the  modern 
study  of  plants  lies  the  hope  of  the  future,  as  to  the  advancement  of 
agricultural  methods,  the  limitation  of  disease,  the  lengthening  and  the 
comprehension  of  life.  Botany  is  not  merely  a  division  of  the  natural 
sciences;  it  is  one  phase  of  the  world  problem. 

SUMMARY  AND  STATISTICS  OF  EDUCATIONAL,  PROGRESS. 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  enter  into  further  details.  The 
progress  of  the  last  fifty  years  may  be  briefly  summarized.  Its 
most  striking  features  have  been:  1.  The  establishment  of 
grades  in  schools,  and  special  provision  for  the  youngest  chil- 
dren in  kindergartens;  2.  The  establishment  of  training 
schools  for  teachers;  3.  The  establishment  of  scientific  and 
technical  schools;  4.  A  wonderful  increase  in  appliances  and 
aids,  as  libraries,  laboratories,  and  apparatus;  5.  Great  endow- 
ments of  colleges  and  schools,  by  the  national  government, 
state  governments,  and  individuals;  6.  Increased  attention  to 
literature  in  the  study  of  language;  7.  A  marvelous  extension 
of  all  kinds  of  scientific  study,  including  agriculture,  the  most 
important  of  all;  and  8.  The  establishment  of  graduate 
courses,  enabling  students  to  carry  their*  studies  much  further 
than  formerly. 

Fifty  years  ago  every  college  in  the  country  was  poor;  and 
no  college  had  an  equipment,  excepting  its  library,  equal  to 
that  of  the  best  high  schools  today.  Now,  the  annual  income 
of  Harvard  University  is  more  than  one  and  a  half  millions  of 
dollars.  Its  productive  funds  exceed  nine  millions  of  dollars. 
Its  library  has  545,000  volumes.  Yale  has  285,000  volumes; 
and  the  University  of  Minnesota  has  60,000  volumes.  I  need 
not  mention  in  detail  the  great  gifts  which  have  founded  and 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  615 

built  up  Johns  Hopkins,  Chicago,  and  Leland  Stanford  Uni- 
versities, gifts  amounting  to  $25,000,000.  The  University  of 
California  has  recently  received  from  a  lady  a  gift  of  six  mill- 
ions of  dollars  for  buildings,  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  being 
given  just  for  architectural  plans. 

Fifty  years  ago,  Connecticut  had  a  school  fund  of  $2,000,000, 
and  it  was  deemed  magnificent.  Today  such  a  fund  is  small 
in  comparison  with  the  larger  funds  of  many  states,  our  own 
state  already  having  a  fund  more  than  five  times  as  large  and 
likely  to  become  ten  times  as  large. 

There  are  today  in  the  United  States  472  Universities  and 
Colleges  of  Liberal  Arts,  at  which  more  than  150,000  students 
are  in  attendance.  The  total  annual  income  of  these  institu- 
tions is  nineteen  millions  of  dollars.  The  bound  volumes  in 
their  libraries  number  6,700,000.  The  value  of  their  scientific 
apparatus  is  more  than  $16,000,000.  The  value  of  their 
grounds,  buildings,  and  productive  funds,  is  $240,000,000.  And 
the  benefactions  they  receive,  while  varying  from  year  to  year, 
amount  to  several  millions  yearly.  The  United  States,  in  its 
magnificent  proportions  of  today,  is  not  grander,  in  comparison 
with  the  infant  republic  of  1776,  than  are  the  educational 
forces  of  the  country  today  as  compared  with  those  of  fifty 
years  ago. 

DONATIONS  THIS  YEAR  FOR  PUBLIC  EDUCATION. 

In  conclusion,  I  may  say  that  the  donations  to  educational 
institutions  of  the  United  States  have  not  been  as  large  in  any 
previous  year  as  in  1899.  Already  there  have  been  received 
by  these  institutions,  during  the  present  year,  nearly  $30,000,- 
000.  The  wealthy  people  of  the  country  are  beginning  to  un- 
derstand that  it  is  better  to  be  their  own  administrators,  and 
to  give  their  wealth  while  they  are  alive,  rather  than  to  be- 
queath it  at  their  death;  and  that  there  is  no  nobler  use  to 
which  they  can  put  their  money  than  in  endowing  and  making 
powerful  universities  for  the  education  of  the  people.  How 
general  this  disposition  to  promote  education  is  becoming,  will 
appear,  I  think,  from  the  following  list  of  the  principal  bene- 
factions during  this  year  1899.  It  will  be  noticed  that  in  this 
splendid  list  the  University  of  Minnesota  does  not  appear,  as 
the  recipient  of  any  large  private  benefaction. 


616  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Mrs.  Leland  Stanford,  to  Leland  Stanford  University $15,000,000 

Estate  of  John  Simmons,  for  the  Female  College,  Boston. .  2,000,000 

Henry  O.  Warren,  to  Harvard  College 1,000,000 

G.  W.  Clayton,  for  a  university  at  Denver . .     1,000,000 

P.  D.  Armour,  to  Armour  Institute 750,000 

Maxwell  Somerville,  to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. ... .  600,000 

Edward  Austin,  to  Harvard  College 500,000 

Lydia  Bradley,  to  Bradley  Polytechnic  Institute 500,000 

Samuel  Cupples,  to  Washington  University 400,000 

Jacob  Schift,  to  Harvard  College 300,000 

Marshall  Field  and  J.  D.  Rockefeller,  to  the  University  of 

Chicago   300,000 

Edward  Tuck,  to  Dartmouth  College 300,000 

J.  D.  Rockefeller,  to  Brown  University 200,000 

Caroline  U,  May,  to  New  York  Teachers'  College 200,000 

Edwin  Austin,  to  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  200,000 

R.  C.  Billings,  to  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  100,000 

O.  C.  Marsh,  to  Yale  College 100,000 

Andrew  Carnegie,  to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 100,000 

Unknown  donor,  to  Wesley  an  University 100,000 

George  R.  Berry,  to  Baltimore  Female  College 100,000 

J.  D.  Rockefeller,  to  Denison  University. 100,000 

W.  K.  Vanderbilt,  to  Vanderbilt  University 100,000 

Unknown  donor,  to  Princeton  College 100,000 

R.  C.  Billings,  to  Harvard  College 100,000 

Besides  these,  there  is  a  multitude  of  smaller  gifts,  the  total 
of  which  rises  to  the  millions.  May  the  liberality  thus  mani- 
fested toward  the  highest  institutions  of  learning  continue  to 
promote  education  in  the  years  to  come,  and  thus  nobly  supple- 
ment the  grand  work  of  the  states  in  their  provision  for  public 
and  universal  education. 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES    DURING   THE 
HALF  CENTURY. 


BY  HON.  CUSHMAN  K.  DAVIS,  UNITED  STATES  SENATOR. 


The  progress  of  the  United  States,  during  the  half  centurjr 
now  about  to  end,  is  a  trite  subject  for  discussion.  I  do  not 
believe  that  the  present  generation  can  adequately  estimate  it. 
To  us  it  is  commonplace.  The  things  that  we  ourselves  have 
done  always  so  appear.  We  become  so  familiar  with  them,  so 
used  and  wonted  to  them  by  daily  contact  and  elaboration,  so 
versed  in  the  small  and  myriad  details  in  which  any  great 
achievement  is  necessarily  involved,  that  the  entire  perform- 
ance is,  to  us,  like  a  stage  play  to  its  actors,  the  mere  routine 
of  daily  life,  however  gorgeous  and  spectacular  it  may  seem  to* 
the  audience.  It  would  be  easy  enough  to  treat  this  progress 
with  sounding  and  general  declamation;  to  say  in  elaborate- 
phrase  what  everyone  knows,  and  to  gratify  ourselves  with 
self-praise.  I  am  not  sure  that  it  would  not  be  entirely  proper 
to  do  so ;  for  surely  the  men  and  women  of  any  eventful  epoch 
about  to  close  have  a  right  to  look  back  proudly  over  its  great 
results,  and  to  say  "all  of  this  have  we  seen,  and  of  it  we 
have  been  a  great  part."  But  we  need  not  fear  that  this  will 
not  be  abundantly  done  on  other  occasions. 

It  has  therefore  seemed  to  me  that  I  shall  perform  a  very 
pleasant  duty  most  usefully  by  indicating  some  of  the  general 
lines  along  which  this  progress  has  been  made. 

All  National  progress  is  valuable  only  so  far  as  it  benefits 
humanity.  Any  other  progress  is  illusory,  and  does  not  de- 
serve the  name,  although  it  has  often  received  it.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  United  States  during  the  last  fifty  years  has,  in 
my  opinion,  this  for  its  distinguishing  trait,  that  it  has  bene- 
fited man  more  as  an  individual,  given  him  more  liberties,  func- 


618  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

tions,  opportunities,  comforts,  enjoyments,  luxuries  even,  than 
lie  has  received  in  any  other  half  century  since  time  began. 
The  social  has  been  greater  than  the  political  progress,  and  one 
great  excellence  of  this  evolution  will  consist  of  the  reaction  of 
man  as  an  individual  upon  political  questions,  which  will  be 
subjected  to  a  higher  intelligence  than  has  ever  before  operated 
upon  them. 

The  principal  progress  of  humanity  had,  for  many  genera- 
tions, been  toward  the  acquirement  of  political  rights.  The 
struggle  was  to  emancipate  man  from  political  restrictions  of 
many  kinds,  imperial,  social,  and  commercial.  Our  fathers  re- 
belled to  secure  political  rights.  They  fought  for  the  right  to 
govern  themselves,  and  they  secured  it.  That  the  American 
people,  as  individuals,  should  be  raised  to  a  higher  enjoyment 
of  personal  dignity,  privilege,  and  comfort,  was  not  the  imme- 
diate object  of  our  fathers.  Their  task  was  the  proximate  one 
to  secure  that  political  independence  which  is  the  condition 
precedent  to  every  ultimate  social  and  personal  benefit.  Thus, 
up  to  about  fifty  years  ago,  political  debates,  speculations,  and 
divisions,  were  largely  of  a  general  character,  and,  to  a  certain 
extent,  abstract,  even  in  their  connection  with  the  most  prac- 
tical questions.  '_ 

But  about  the  year  1850  a  force,  then  recent,  and  which  had 
been  merely  a  weak  and  derided  protest,  became  all  at  once  a 
controlling  power.  It  was  generated  by  a  great  conception  of 
the  rights  of  man  as  an  individual.  This  force  manifested  itself 
by  an  attack  made  by  the  intelligence  and  conscience  of  the 
Nation  upon  the  institution  of  African  slavery.  The  slave  was 
liberated.  It  was  a  great  achievement  in  itself,  but  it  went 
far  beyond  its  own  consummation. 

Pause  for  a  moment  and  look  back.  You  cannot  help  see- 
ing how  many  vast,  perilous,  and  intricate  questions,  involving 
asserted  personal  rights,  have  most  forcibly  presented  them- 
selves since  1850,  and  how  rarely  they  appeared  in  any  form 
before  that  year.  These  have  not  usually  been  political.  They 
have  been  social,  industrial,  and  economic  agitations  of  popu- 
lar intelligence  and  sentiment,  which  have  more  often  enforced 
themselves  by  usage  and  custom  than  by  legislation. 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  Q\Q 

Perhaps  the  most  universal  and  beneficent  of  these  improve- 
ments in  social  conditions  by  which  the  individual  has  been 
benefited  has  been  in  regard  to  the  status  of  woman.  Her 
emancipation  from  an  almost  complete  merger  of  her  person- 
ality has  been  nearly  accomplished.  Fifty  years  ago  her  power 
in  literature,  art,  and  affairs,  was  small  indeed.  Today  she 
owns  and  manages  her  own  property;  she  is  arrayed  in  nearly 
every  rank  of  endeavor;  she  has  become  a  function  in  all  the 
concerns  of  life,  beyond  what  was  conceivable  or  dreamed  of 
in  former  times.  New  fields  of  employment  have  been  occu- 
pied by  her.  The  doors  of  universities  have  been  unbarred,  and 
she  walks,  queenly  and  triumphant,  in  the  cloistered  halls  of 
learning.  She  has  ceased  to  be  merely  the  satellite  of  man, 
shining  with  a  reflected  light,  and,  too  often,  eclipsed  by  his 
shadow,  and  has  become  another  sphere  of  humanity  shedding 
a  milder  and  purer  radiance  upon  all  human  concerns ;  and  to 
her  attractive  power1  and  beauty  the  tide  of  human  welfare 
has  risen  to  a  greater  height. 

The  last  fifty  years  have  not  been  an  imaginative  period. 
They  have  been  intensely  practical.  More  useful  inventions 
have  been  made  since  1850  than  for  two  hundred  years  before. 
They  have  lightened  labor  and  utilized  waste  substances.  They 
have  doubled  time  and  shortened  the  duration  of  the  act  of 
production.  They  have  thus  given  rest  and  leisure  for  intel- 
lectual improvement.  They  have  cheapened  products  and  they 
have  not  reduced  wages.  They  have  not  barred  any  of  the 
opportunities  for  employment,  but  have,  on  the  contrary,  cre- 
ated and  increased  them.  For  it  is  a  truth  that  every  invention 
which  has  produced  a  machine  which  can  do  the  work  of  many 
hands  has  wronged  no  toiler,  but  has,  on  the  contrary,  improved 
his  condition.  The  benefits  have  been  universal.  An  inven- 
tory of  the  utensils  of  any  household  will  disclose  many  de- 
vices to  lighten  toil,  to  shorten  hours  of  work,  and  to  produce 
a  better  result,  which  were  unknown  fifty  years  ago. 

Education  has  become  universal  and  its  scope  immensely 
greater.  The  school  of  whatever  grade  of  that  time  was  not 
the  school  of  today.  The  difference  is  that  the  school  now  con- 
nects itself  immediately  with  the  practical  life  of  after  years, 
whereas  it  formerly  did  this  in  scarcely  any  degree. 


620  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

People  are  better  fed,  better  housed,  and  better  clothed,* 
than  they  were  fifty  years  ago.  The  number  of  books  in  lowly 
houses  has  increased  tenfold,  and  I  think  that  the  family  life 
is  better  and  closer  now  than  it  was  then. 

This  is  a  self-governing  people,  and  we  look  to  see  what 
effect  this  great  progress  towards  individualism  has  had  upon 
political  affairs.  It  is  to  be  noted,  in  the  first  place,  that  this* 
individualism  is  simply  the  result  of  mental  independence. 
Mental  independence  is  the  product  of  the  resources  of  knowl- 
edge and  thought.  These  resources  have  been  partly  the  re- 
sult, and  partly  the  cause,  of  the  personal  advancement  which 
I  have  indicated  so  imperfectly. 

That  this  independence  should  assert  itself  in  political  af- 
fairs was  inevitable.  Accordingly,  this  half  century  has  been 
signalized  by  great  manifestations  of  free  political  action. 
Formerly  political  inconsistency  was  an  unpardonable  apos- 
tasy; it  is  now  merely  venial.  Formerly  the  masses  followed; 
now  they  lead.  Their  leading  is  not  always  wise,— but  that  is 
not  the  question.     The  fact  is  what  we  are  seeking. 

This  independence  of  thought  and  action  has  been  asserted 
and  sustained  by  an  unprecedented  intellectual  activity.  The 
crowd  often  now  debates  ably,  whereas  formerly  it  merely  hur- 
rahed or  dogmatized. 

The  political  contest  of  1896  was  upon  abstract  and  most 
difficult  questions  of  finance  and  economics.  I  say  nothing 
here  as  to  the  merits  of  that  most  remarkable  controversy,  but 
I  will  say  that  no  political  subject  was  ever  debated  so  thor- 
oughly and  well  by  the  masses  of  the  people.  There  was,  of 
course,  much  unfounded  assertion  and  a  deal  of  delirious  proph- 
ecy; but,  allowing  for  all  these,  there  was  a  stock  of  informa- 
tion, and  a  vigor  of  argument  employed  by  men  talking  with 
each  other,  never  before  equalled.. 

This  is  as  it  should  be  in  a  nation  whose  people  settle  every- 
thing. A  people  so  endowed  as  ours  will  settle  a  disputed 
issue  wisely,  and  much  more  speedily  than  was  done  in  the 
earlier  times,  when  irreflection,  ignorance,  and  passion,  were 
too  often  the  prey  of  the  demagogue  or  the  victim  of  the  wise 
man  gone  wrong.  No  more  potent  guaranty  of  our  power  and 
perpetuity  has  been  produced,  in  our  one  hundred  and  twenty- 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  621 

five  years  of  development,  than  this  subjection  of  political 
questions  to  individual  independent  opinion. 

Of  course,  individual  independence  of  action  upon  political 
subjects  is  sometimes  ruinously  destructive.  Free  thought  is 
always  in  rebellion.  If  resisted  too  obdurately  by  ancient  and 
evil  institutions,  it  crushes  and  wrecks,  by  force  irresistible, 
the  entire  social  fabric  of  which  they  are  a  part.  The  French 
Revolution  was  such  an  event.  It  was  the  product  of  individ- 
ual thought  which  for  fifty  years  protested,  remonstrated,  suf- 
fered, and  was  often  crushed  only  to  rise  again,  until  it  pos- 
sessed itself  of  the  physical  force  of  thirty  millions  of  people, 
and  swept  into  one  chaos  of  destruction  the  good  and  the  bad 
of  a  state  which  had  stood  for  nearly  a  thousand  years.  The 
most  salutary  changes,  both  in  the  social  and  in  the  material 
world,  are  gradual ;  and  the  more  imperceptible  in  their  prog- 
ress, the  better  they  are.  Had  France  been  plastic  a  hundred 
years  ago,  the  lava  of  the  Revolution  would  not  have  buried 
so  many  institutions  under  its  tide  of  fire,  and  Napoleon  would 
never  have  appeared  as  conqueror,  emperor,  and  reformer. 

It  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  the  people  of  the  United  States 
will  assimilate,  and  will  concentrate  into  unitary  action,  the 
many  and  diverse  forces  of  individual  thought  and  action.  They 
have  always  done  so.  If  we  look  back  over  our  history,  we  see 
many  great  events  and  emergencies  of  the  most  dangerous 
character  which  our  fathers  never  foresaw,  which  were  en- 
countered, controlled,  and  settled,  in  every  instance,  to  the 
increase  of  our  power  and  stability.  What  other  nation  could 
have  suffered  and  triumphed  as  did  the  United  States  in  our 
civil  war?  Unprecedented  as  the  mere  military  result  was,  it 
was  slight  compared  with  the  fact  that,  during  the  generation 
which  suffered  and  prevailed  in  it,  the  people  of  the  North  and 
South  speedily  reunited  in  a  great  National  identity  of  patriot- 
ism and  power. 

The  Louisiana  purchase  was  an  event  of  unexampled  mag- 
nitude of  its  kind.  To  many  of  our  greatest  and  purest  states- 
men, it  seemed  sinister,  and  manifestly  destructive  of  our  insti- 
tutions and  polity.  But  with  the  cession  from  Mexico  it  has 
become  the  very  essence  of  our  invincible  strength  as  a  Nation. 

Present  conditions  of  a  similar  character,  which  at  once 
create  anticipations  of  benefit,  or  apprehensions  of  evil,  that 


622  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

have  no  limits  in  the  compass  of  the  imaginations  which  con- 
ceive them,  will,  by  the  wisdom  of  a  great  people  whose 
thought,  speech,  and  action  are  free,  be  settled  and  wisely  ad- 
justed to  the  conditions  and  destinies  of  a  civilization  which 
has  moved  from  its  European  and  American  seats  across  the 
great  oceans,  and  which  is  touching  with  its  creative  hands  the 
dark  and  inert  masses  of  Oriental  and  African  humanity. 

Considering  the  evolution  of  the  last  fifty  years,  its  mass, 
its  spirit,  its  momentum  and  direction,  we  are  warranted  in 
believing  that  our  country  is  now,  as  it  has  been  heretofore, 
an  agency  of  that  Providence  which  guides  and  moves  nations 
to  the  realization  of  every  aspiration  of  humanity  for  better 
conditions,  moral,  intellectual,  spiritual,  and  physical. 


Note  by  the  Secretary. 

An  address  on  the  first  of  the  two  following  subjects  was  expected 
to  be  given  by  Senator  Knute  Nelson,  and  on  the  second,  completing 
the  series  of  this  Anniversary  Celebration,  by  Gen.  James  H.  Baker. 

Senator  Nelson,  however,  having  recently  returned  from  a  long  visit 
in  Norway,  his  native  land,  found  many  and  important  duties  requiring 
his  attention  before  the  opening  of  Congress,  so  that  he  felt  obliged 
to  decline  the  invitation  of  the  Anniversary  Committee.  At  the  monthly 
meeting  of  the  Historical  Society,  November  13th,  the  Committee  se- 
cured the  promise  of  Gen.  John  B.  Sanborn  to  speak  on  the  same  sub- 
ject that  had  been  assigned  for  Senator  Nelson,  the  address  being  thus 
without  time  for  studied  preparation. 

Still  later,  a  telegram  was  received  from  Gen.  Baker,  detained  by 
business  which  had  called  him  to  New  York  City,  saying  that  he  could 
not  be  present  at  the  Anniversary.  In  his  place  and  on  the  subject 
announced  for  him,  when  only  a  part  of  one  day  remained,  Col.  William 
P.  Clough  consented  to  speak,  that  each  theme  in  the  series  planned  by 
the  committee  might  be  presented. 


MINNESOTA  IN  THE  NATIONAL  CONGRESS  DURING 
THESE  FIFTY  YEARS. 


BY  GEN.  JOHN  B.   SANBORN. 


Mr.  President,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  It  was  only  at 
the  close  of  the  Historical  Society  meeting,  on  Monday  evening, 
that  I  was  notified  by  the  committee  and  asked  to  fill  this  place. 
Hence  I  appear  before  you  with  no  preparation  whatever,  ex- 
cept what  any  man  has  who  has  been  identified  with  the  affairs 
of  Minnesota  for  forty-five  years.  In  the  celebration  of  this 
anniversary,  a  day  of  so  much  importance  in  the  history  of  our 
Society  and  our  State,  all  papers  should  be  prepared  with  a 
great  deal  of  care,  every  idea  being  thoroughly  considered  and 
fairly  expressed.  It  seems  scarcely  proper,  therefore,  for  me 
to  proceed  with  any  remarks  upon  this  subject,  which  had  been 
assigned  to  Senator  Nelson. 

It  can  be  treated  of  course  in  a  great  many  ways,  but  it  can- 
not be  treated  by  me  in  any  adequate  manner  this  evening. 
The  addresses  that  have  already  been  given,  and  the  papers 
that  have  been  prepared  and  read,  have  made  frequent  reference 
to  the  grand  achievements  of  the  people  of  this  State.  One  of 
the  most  distinguished  parts  of  this  history  of  fifty  years  con- 
sists in  the  patriotic  and  honorable  public  services  of  her  sena- 
tors and  representatives  in  Congress. 

Minnesota  had  no  life,  corporate  or  otherwise,  until  Con- 
gress passed  the  act  providing  for  the  organization  of  the  ter- 
ritory, on  the  third  day  of  March,  1849.  The  land  had  been  a 
wilderness,  as  it  then  was,  from  the  dawn  of  creation.  Of 
course,  Adam  was  the  original  owner  of  this  territory,  and  I 
think  (although  this  may  differ  a  little  from  the  ideas  of  our 
distinguished  Bishop  Whipple)  that  the  people  whom  we  found 


624  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

her^  when  this  was  organized  as  a  territory  had  descended 
from  Cain  and  not  from  Abel.  Under  the  marked  influence 
that  he  has  brought  to  bear  upon  them,  however,  it  would  be 
difficult  now  to  substantiate  the  idea  that  they  were  descend- 
ants of  Gain. 

The  organization  of  Minnesota  as  a  territory  brought  her 
into  immediate  contact  with  the  great  powers  of  Congress  and 
of  the  United  States.  No  such  powers  of  government  exist 
anywhere  else  on  the  earth,  nor  have  they  ever  existed,  I  think, 
in  any  period  of  the  history  of  the  race.  When  we  speak  of  the 
authority  of  Congress,  that  does  not  fully  come  to  our  mind. 
It  comprises  the  power  of  negotiating  treaties  with  foreign  na- 
tions, of  regulating  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  with  the 
several  states  of  the  Union,  and  the  Indian  tribes;  the  power 
to  raise  and  support  armies,  all  expressed  in  five  words,  from 
which  at  times  spring  armies  of  a  million  men  to  protect  and 
maintain  these  powers  and  enforce  them;  to  provide  and 
maintain  a  navy,  from  which  navies  sometimes  spring,  under 
the  operations  of  Congress,  that  are  capable  of  sweeping  all 
other  navies  from  the  seas;  and  then  that  last,  grand,  tran- 
scendent power,  to  make  laws  to  carry  into  effect  all  the  fore- 
going powers  and  all  other  powers  vested  in  the  government 
of  the  United  States  or  in  any  department  or  office  thereof. 

When  Minnesota  sent  her  first  territorial  delegate  to  Con- 
gress, and  more  definitely  when  statehood  entitled  her  to  send 
senators  and  representatives  to  Congress,  she  became  a  partici- 
pant in  the  administration  of  those  powers.  She  shared  in  the 
deliberations  of  Congress  by  her  successive  territorial  dele- 
gates; and  since  her  admission  to  statehood  she  votes  on  all 
questions,  as  when  war  shall  be  declared,  or  peace  made,  and 
what  action  shall  be  taken  in  regard  to  commerce  and  all  those 
great  relations  which  make  states  and  make  nations.  This 
commenced,  as  I  stated,  on  the  third  day  of  March,  1849.  The 
white  inhabitants  of  this  territory  were  then  few.  My  friend 
Moss  was  here  at  that  time,  and  there  were  three  or  four 
thousand  others. 

But  what  was  done  then?  From  the  provisions  that  are  in- 
cluded in  that  act  have  flowed  all  the  great  results  which  have 
been  referred  to  by  the  previous  speakers.     Among  these  are 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  §25 

the  thirteen  million  dollars  of  our  permanent  school  fund,  and 
the  State  University.  The  simple  enactment  by  Congress  that 
sections  16  and  36  in  each  township  of  all  the  public  domain 
in  the  territory  and  future  states  growing  out  of  this  region 
should  be  set  apart  for  school  purposes  has  brought  about  this 
result.  JSTow  to  whom  is  that  due  in  the  main,  to  the  greatest 
extent?  Unquestionably  to  the  first  delegate  from  Minnesota 
who  was  there  present,  giving  direction  to  legislation  for  our 
territory  at  that  time,  General  H.  H.  Sibley.  Thence  followed 
the  marvelous  educational  growth  which  has  since  appeared. 
It  was  the  touch  of  the  wand  of  the  magician  to  the  whole 
territory.  Hitherta  it  had  continued  as  it  was  in  the  begin- 
ning. Its  only  inhabitants  had  been  untutored  savages.  Six 
thousand  years  had  passed  away  without  making  any  material 
changes,  excepting  here  and  there  a  mound  to  mark  the  burial 
places  of  a  departed  race. 

There  is  little  that  I  can  say  in  regard  to  the  part  performed 
by  Minnesota  in  the  administration  of  the  powers  vested  in 
Congress,  except  what  was  said  by  my  predecessor,  Governor 
Pillsbury,  that  she  has  always  been  thoroughly  true  and  loyal 
to  the  federal  government.  Minnesota  has  always  voted  for 
the  patriotic  use  of  every  power  vested  in  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  when  it  has  been  exerted  for  the  preserva- 
tion and  development  of  our  national  life,  and  for  the  upbuild- 
ing and  advancement  of  the  whole  country.  At  the  same  time 
there  has  been  constant  watchfulness  for  all  the  interests  of 
the  Northwest  and  -of  this  State.  There  have  been  fifteen 
United  States  senators  from  Minnesota,  and  about  three  times 
as  many  representatives,  forty-three,  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives; but  in  no  instance  has  the  vote  of  the  State  been 
adverse  to  the  loyal  and  patriotic  exercise  of  any  power  granted 
by  the  Constitution  to  Congress  or  to  any  department  of  the 
federal  government. 

When  the  civil  war  commenced,  the  Minnesota  senators  were 
Morton  S.  Wilkinson,  a  republican,  and  Henry  M.  Rice,  a  demo- 
crat. Both  were  most  ardent  supporters  of  the  government. 
To  my  astonishment,  I  heard  Senator  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts, 
chairman  of  the  committee  of  military- affairs,  say  to  Mr.  Rice, 
long  years  after  the  war,  "I  don't  know;  how  we  could  ever  have 

40 


626  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

mobilized  our  armies,  if  you  had  not  been  on  the  military  com- 
mittee of  the  United  States  Senate;"  and  he  went  on  to  state 
that  they  got  more  information  and  knowledge  from  Mr.  Rice, 
as  to  what  was  required  to  move  a  regiment  or  any  organized 
force  of  the  army,  than  from  all  other  sources  combined,  and 
admitted  that  Mr.  Rice  had  drawn  all  the  provisions  of  the 
law  for  that  purpose. 

That  was  the  greatest  crisis  through  which  the  nation  has 
ever  passed.  It  was  the  time  when  all  these  powers  which  I 
have  referred  to,  and  which  are  enumerated  by  the  Constitu- 
tion, were  exercised.  There  was  scarcely  a  power  vested  in 
Congress,  or  in  any  department  of  the  government,  that  was  not 
exercised  to  the  fullest  extent  for  four  years  during  that  war. 
Times  come  in  our  national  history  when  every  such  power 
has  to  be  exercised,  when  no  power  can  be  neglected;  and  so 
far  as  Minnesota's  conduct  was  concerned,  in  that  great  strug- 
gle for  our  national  existence,  she  is  entitled  to  the  highest 
praise  and  to  the  congratulation  of  this  generation. 

You  may  think  it  strange  I  have  not  a  word  to  add  concern- 
ing the  representatives  of  Minnesota  subsequent  to  the  civil 
war,  and  now,  in  our  national  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives. You  are,  all  of  you,  as  familiar  with  what  they  have 
accomplished  as  I  am  myself.  You  know  that  by  their  stand- 
ing and  their  efforts  Minnesota  has  acquired  a  name  and  a  rep- 
utation not  only  throughout  this  country  but  throughout  the 
whole  earth.  It  is  a  source  of  everlasting  commendation  and 
gratitude  that  the  people  have  been  so  intelligent  as  to  pro- 
mote men  so  able  as  they  have  been  to  these  exalted  positions. 

Looking  forward,  I  can  only  express  the  hope  that  during 
the  next  fifty  years  this  State  may  be  as  loyal,  and  may  be  as 
ably  represented  in  both  branches  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  as  it  has  been  during  the  past  fifty  years. 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 
THROUGH  FIFTY  YEARS  IN-  PRESERVING  MINNE- 
SOTA HISTORY,  AND  ITS  DUTY  TO  THE  FUTURE. 


BY  COL.  WILLIAM  P.  OLOUGH. 


Mr.  Chairman,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  am  in  the 
same  position  as  General  Sanborn.  I  am  a  substitute,  called 
in  just  at  the  eve  of  battle.  The  Anniversary  Committee  de- 
sired that  this  last  address  in  celebration  of  the  completion  of 
a  half  century  of  this  Historical  Society  should  endeavor  to 
make  the  public  better  acquainted  with  what  it  has  done  for 
the  State,  and  with  our  manifest  duty  that  this  work  shall 
continue  and  widen  during  the  future  years. 

The  first  legislature  of  Minnesota,  which  met  in  this  1c  wn 
fifty  years  ago,  in  September,  1849,  was  only  small  in  numbers. 
There  were  twenty-seven  members,  all  together,  nine  in  the 
Council,  and  eighteen  in  the  House.  But  they  must  have  been 
a  very  remarkable  body  of  lawgivers.  They  sat  during  eight 
weeks  and  four  days.  They  had  under  their  jurisdiction  a  ter- 
ritory almost  as  large  as  Germany  or  France.  At  that  time  Min- 
nesota extended  from  the  St.  Croix,  as  it  does  now,  at  its  east- 
ern, boundary,  to  the  Missouri  river  at  its  western.  It  was  with- 
out organized  government  of  any  kind,  excepting  that  provided 
by  the  United  States  in  accordance  with  the  act  establishing 
the  Territory  of  Minnesota.  It  was  without  provision  for 
the  transfer  and  holding  of  property  and  the  recording  of  titles. 
And  still,  in  the  short  period  of  less  than  nine  weeks,  that 
small  legislature  completely  organized  the  government  in  the 
Territory.  It  provided  for  its  courts,  for  the  administration  of 
justice,  for  the  transfer  of  property,  for  the  care  of  the  estates 


628  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

of  deceased  persons,  for  the  education  of  the  youth,  for  the 
necessary  roads  and  means  of  communication,  and  it  did  that 
all  in  the  small  space  of  forty -three  acts.  Why,  legislatures 
much  larger  and  supposed  to  be  composed  of  men  of  much 
greater  experience  and  ability  need  that  today  merely  for  the 
purpose  of  rubbing  off  the  corners  of  previous  legislation.  But 
that  first  body  of  Minnesota  lawgivers  did  its  great  work,  ac- 
complished all  its  purposes,  taking  legislation  as  a  blank  and 
filling  it  up  completely,  in  forty-three  acts  and  in  fifty-two  days 
of  session. 

But  that  legislature  passed  one  other  act,  to  incorporate  the 
Historical  Society  of  Minnesota,  which  was  placed  last  in  the 
publication  of  the  laws  passed  during  the  session.  This  society 
was  a  somewhat  feeble  institution  in  its  infancy.  Everything 
was  on  a  comparatively  small  scale  in  those  days.  But  still 
the  legislative  act  provided  for  a  complete  society  for  \he  pur- 
poses that  were  named  by  it  in  a  somewhat  general  way.  As 
was  told  you  this  afternoon,  the  society  organized  upon  that 
basis  and  proceeded  with  its  work. 

It  received  a  new  impulse  in  the  year  1856,  when  two  fur- 
ther acts  were  passed  regarding  this  society,  and  defining  the 
work  which  it  was  to  perform.  Before,  in  the  act  of  1849,  in  a 
brief  and  general  way  the  work  and  purposes  and  scope  of  the 
society  were  mentioned.  In  the  first  act  passed  in  1856,  those 
purposes  were  expressed  at  somewhat  greater  length;  but  the 
second  act  in  that  year  contained  the  following  provision, 
which  has  been  really  the  breath  of  life  of  the  society.  I  will 
trouble  you  with  the  reading  of  it.  It  is  very  short  and  it  tells 
the  story  in  itself. 

"Section  1.  There  shall  be  annually  appropriated  to  the 
Minnesota  Historical  Society  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars, 
to  be  expended  by  said  society  in  collecting,  embodying,  arrang- 
ing and  preserving  in  authentic  form  a  library  of  books,  pam- 
phlets, maps,  charts,  manuscripts,  papers,  paintings,  statuary, 
and  other  materials  illustrative  of  the  history  of  Minnesota;  to 
rescue  from  oblivion  the  memory  of  its  early  pioneers,  to  ob- 
tain and  preserve  narratives  of  their  exploits,  perils,  and  hardy 
.adventures ;  to  secure  facts  and  statements  relative  to  f  he  his- 
tory, genius,  progress  or  decay  of  our  Indian  tribes;  to  exhibit 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  Q29 

faithfully  the  antiquities  and  the  past  and  present  resources 
of  Minnesota;  also  to  aid  in  the  publication  of  such  of  the  col- 
lections  of  the  society  as  the  society  shall,  from  time  to  time, 
deem  of  value  and  interest;  to  aid  in  binding  its  books,  pam- 
phlets, manuscripts  and  papers,  and  in  paying  the  necessary  in- 
cidental expenses  of  the  society." 

This  act  is  important,  not  merely  for  the  small  pittance 
which  was  all  that  it  was  thought  could  be  afforded  at  that 
time  from  the  slender  revenues  of  the  Territory  for  this  work, 
but  also  for  its  recognition  of  a  great  fact,  that  among  the  edu- 
cational institutions  of  the  Territory  and  afterwards  of  the 
State,  the  Historical  Society  holds  a  prominent  place. 

The  appropriation,  you  will  observe,  was  perpetual.  It  has 
since  been  continued,  I  think,  without  any  interruption,  and  of 
late  years  it  has  been  increased,  although  not  nearly  to  the 
amount,  as  we  think,  which  should  be  expended  upon  such  work. 
Besides  the  great  tasks  of  administration  of  the  constantly 
growing  library,  museum,  and  collection  of  portraits,  another 
principal  duty  of  the  society,  to  which  it  has  given  continual  at- 
tention is  the  collecting  and  writing  of  history,  especially  the 
history  of  the  State  of  Minnesota. 

The  study  of  history  is  not  merely  a  thing  of  pleasure  and  a 
pastime.  It  is  a  study  that  is  indispensable  for  success  in  the 
life  of  the  individual  and  of  the  state.  It  is  a  thing  which  no 
civilized  people  can  leave  out  from  education  and  from  daily 
use. 

Everything  that  we  see  in  physical  nature  is  the  result  of 
something  that  preceded  it.  For  example,  the  grass  that  grows 
.under  our  feet  does  so  because  other  grass  grew  there  last  year 
<and  in  the  years  past.  The  beasts  that  walk  the  earth  have 
the  same  forms,  instincts,  and  habits,  as  their  progenitors. 
(This  is  a  truth,  so  far  as  the  physical  world  is  concerned,  which 
is  absolute  and  universal.  Practically,  it  is  also  universal  in 
iWhat  we  call  the  moral  world,  that  is,  the  world  of  thought, 
of  ideas,  of  impulses,  of  purposes,  and  consequently  of  men's 
actions.  Nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  out  of  a  thousand  of 
the  things  that  every  man  does  every  day  he  does  merely  be- 
cause he  has  previously  done  the  same  thing,  or  because  some- 
body else  has  done  the  same  thing  before  him.     Is  not  that 


530  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

true?  Think  of  it.  To  say  that  a  proposition  is  unusual,  is  to 
condemn  it  To  say  that  a  proposition  is  unheard  of,  is  to  give 
it  a  knock-out  blow.  We  are  all  the  creatures  of  custom,  and 
mankind  has  always  been  so.  All  of  our  institutions  are  bun- 
dles of  customs.  The  examples  of  the  customs  are  called  prece- 
dents, and  these  control  the  action  of  men  and  of  governments 
everywhere. 

One  of  the  greatest  and  best  governments  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  has  no  constitution  underneath  it,  excepting  an  unwrit- 
ten constitution  of  precedents.  In  England,  the  country  to 
which  I  refer,  they  have  a  kingdom  and  a  parliament  today  be- 
cause they  have  had  them  in  antiquity.  These  things  have 
gone  on  continuously,  and  the  institutions  which  exist  in  Eng- 
land or  in  any  other  country  today  exist  because  other  institu- 
tions of  similar  character  existed  in  times  past. 

Custom,  habit,  and  precedent,  control  us  in  every  action. 
They  control  us  as  men  and  as  citizens,  in  our  daily  avocations, 
$±  the  ballot-box,  and  even  on  the  field  of  battle.  Can  anybody 
doubt  that  the  brave  men  who  marched  up  San  Juan  hill,  on 
the  first  day  of  July  last  year,  were  moved  to  greater  daring 
because  of  the  knowledge  and  recollection  of  what  their  prede- 
cessors in  similar  positions  at  Chattanooga  and  Atlanta  and 
Gettysburg  and  in  the  Wilderness,  had  done?  We  must  make 
fa  study  of  these  precedents.  It  is  as  necessary  to  study  the 
precedents  of  men's  actions  and  of  social  institutions  as  it  is  to 
study  arithmetic  or  grammar  or  mineralogy. 

In  these  days  there  is  a  tendency  in  every  direction  to  a 
systematic  division  of  labor.  In  the  workshop,  in  transporta- 
tion, in  every  trade,  in  every  profession,  in  every  industry,  this 
has  proved  very  advantageous,  and  it  is  so  particularly  in  edu- 
cation. It  is  not  very  long  ago  since  the  common  schools  were 
content  with  three  studies.  Men  were  taught  those  things, 
,and  they  went  out  and  battled  with  the  world,  many  of  them 
.successfully.  More  studies  were  taught  in  the  higher  schools 
and  colleges,  but  for  a  long  time  each  institution  spread  itself 
over  the  entire  domain  of  knowledge.  Now  the  college  or  uni- 
versity divides  itself  into  numerous  branches.  Now  we  have 
the  classical  and  literary  school,  the  scientific  school,  the  agri- 
cultural school,  the  law  school,  the  medical  school,  the  dental 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  631 

school,  etc.  A  similar  division  of  the  work  to  be  done  is  true 
also  of  those  other  great  sources  of  instruction  and  knowledge, 
(public  libraries.  Formerly  a  public  library  contained  books  of 
all  classes.  Literature,  science,  art,  history,  wrere  all  repre- 
sented. Now  a  division  of  these  subjects  is  being  made.  Some 
of  the  great  new  libraries,  with  large  endowments,  are  confined 
entirely  to  science.  In  a  short  time  others  will  be  confined  to 
literature,  collecting  poetry,  fiction,  plays,  and  essays.  In  a 
short  time  again  others  will  be  confined  to  art.  The  most  im- 
portant of  all,  because  it  affects  the  moral  conduct  of  men,  is 
the  library  of  precedents,  the  library  which  informs  us  what 
man  did  under  similar  circumstances  and  under  like  conditions 
at  periods  in  the  past.  That  is  the  library  of  history.  So 
many  books  have  been  written  upon  the  subject  of  historical 
precedent  that  to  include  other  subjects  in  the  same  public 
library  .makes  it  unwieldy  and  deprives  each  department  of  a 
large  part  of  the  good  it  might  otherwise  accomplish. 

The  fathers  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  and  of  the  State 
appreciated  this  fact.  They  evidently  foresaw  and  then  pro- 
vided for  a  great  educational  center  in  the  State  of  Minnesota. 
In  the  first  place,  they  foresaw,  though  imperfectly,  the  grand 
development  of  this  Commonwealth,  the  beginning  of  which, 
for  its  first  fifty  years,  we  have  reviewed  today.  Think  of  the 
possibilities  of  population  for  the  future  in  our  State.  It  is  a 
fact  worth  mentioning,  for  purposes  of  comparison  and  to  see 
where  we  may  be  in  the  future,  that  the  area  of  the  island  of 
Great  Britian,  88,226  square  miles,  only  slightly  exceeds  that 
of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  which  is  84,287  square  miles.  Great 
Britain  today  is  supporting,  in  comfort  and  luxury  that  have 
never  been  equalled  in  the  world  before,  thirty-three  millions  of 
people.  It  would  be  no  exaggeration  to  hope  and  to  expect 
that  Minnesota  will  have  ten  millions.  And  these  ten  millions 
must  be  educated,  they  must  be  trained,  they  must  have  all 
kinds  of  training  that  are  necessary  to  fit  them  to  be  good 
citizens,  useful  men  and  women,  qualified  to  do  their  duty 
under  all  circumstances  and  conditions  to  which  they  may  be 
called. 

The  schools  and  the  universities  do  their  work.    We  have 
a  great  provision  for  them.    This  is  a  great  educational  center, 


632  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

headed  by  the  State  University,  one  of  the  first  schools  of  its 
class  in  the  country,  and  destined  to  become  more  useful  and 
influential,  relatively,  than  it  is  today.  We  have  in  our  neigh- 
borhood also  Hamline  University,  Macal  ester  College,  Carleton 
College  a  short  distance  away,  a  Catholic  college  and  a  Catholic 
seminary,  and  two  Scandinavian  seminaries,  besides  numerous 
academies  and  the  public  high  schools.  What  could  be  more 
fitting  than  to  provide  specially  a  historical  library,  free  to  all 
our  people,  and  conveniently  accessible  to  the  teachers  and 
students  of  all  these  institutions  of  learning?  That  is  what 
the  founders  of  the  Territory  and  State  of  Minnesota  provided. 

It  was  designed  that  particularly  the  collection  and  preser- 
vation of  the  history  of  Minnesota  should  be  the  work  of  this 
society,  and  surely  there  never  has  been  any  greater  or  more 
honorable  history  than  that  of  this  community.  Look  at  it  in 
any  aspect,  in  its  commercial  aspect,  in  its  civil  aspect,  in  war 
and  in  peace.  Where  is  there  a  finer  record  than  in  Minnesota? 
It  is  fitting  that  this  record  should  be  written,  and  that  it- 
should  be  well  written,  thoroughly,  accurately,  impartially; 
and  there  is  no  better  arrangement  for  collecting  the  materials 
of  history,  and  for  writing  them  fully  and  correctly,  than  a  his- 
torical society  like  ours.  Some  states  have  an  official  histo- 
rian; but  no  individual,  however  successful  in  research  and 
authorship,  can  equal  in  efficiency  a  historical  society.  Such 
a  society  as  this  is  made  up  of  men  of  different  religions,  of 
different  politics,  and  of  all  shades  of  thought.  Impartiality,  ac- 
curacy, the  most  careful  investigation  of  all  details  of  our 
state  history,  can  be  expected  from  a  body  of  that  kind.  So  it 
has  been  fitting  for  the  State  of  Minnesota  to  entrust  the  rec- 
ord of  its  honorable  achievements,  its  settlement  and  progress, 
and  the  illustrious  careers  of  its  public  men,  to  a  body  of 
this  character. 

This  society  has  attempted  to  do  the  work  which  has  been 
committed  to  it,  this  great  work,  thoroughly  well  and  impar- 
tially. It  has  published  eight  volumes  of  its  Historical  Col- 
lections, comprising  addresses,  papers,  and  memoirs,  on  Minne- 
sota history;  and  it  has  made  a  great  collection  of  books  of 
ihistory,  one  of  the  most  valuable  historical  libraries  in  the 
United  States. 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  533 

As  was  said  this  afternoon  in  an  able  paper,  our  society  is 
collecting  together  the  materials  of  our  state  history,  and  the 
best  materials  for  use  by  the  future  historian.  It  is  getting 
not  merely  the  books  of  history  which  have  been  written,  but 
it  is  gathering  together  and  preserving  the  newspapers,  which 
are  the  great  source,  and  have  been  for  the  last  century,  of 
the  materials  of  history.  Upon  this  subject  of  the  society's 
collection  of  Minnesota  newspapers,  I  do  not  think  too  great 
stress  can  be  laid.  Besides,  many  files  of  newspapers  from 
pther  states  and  countries,  and  some  that  are  even  far  older 
<than  this  society,  have  been  acquired  and  are  among  the  choic- 
est treasures  of  its  library;  for  it  is  recognized  that  the  his- 
tory of  former  times,  and  of  other  countries,  is  indispensable 
for  frequent  consultation  by  readers  and  students  here. 

If  anybody  will  take  the  trouble  of  looking  over  the  news- 
paper files  of  this  Historical  Society,  I  am  sure  that  he  will  find 
much  to  gratify  and  interest  him.  He  will  learn  that  the  news- 
paper is  not  an  invention  of  this  day  or  of  this  year  or  even  of 
this  century.  He  will  find  that  good  newspapers  were  published 
more  than  two  hundred  years  ago.  As  an  example  I  hold  in  my 
hand  now  the  first  volume  of  the  "London  Gazette,"  beginning, 
under  the  name  "Oxford  Gazette,"  November  16,  1665,  and  that 
was  a  fine  newspaper  then.  This  society  has  the  complete  series 
of  it,  issued  semi- weekly,  for  nearly  forty-eight  years,  extending 
to  July  25,  1713.  Next  we  have  the  "London  Chronicle,"  pub- 
lished three  times  a  week,  for  the  years  1757  to  1762,  inclusive. 
Our  oldest  file  of  an  American  newspaper  is  the  "Connecticut 
Gazette,"  weekly,  from  June  9,  1780,  to  August  10, 1803,  cover- 
ing thus  the  last  three  years  of  the  Revolution  and  the  following 
twenty  years.  Of  the  "Columbian  Centinel"  (at  first  called  the 
"Massachusetts  Centinel"),  published  twice  a  week  in  Boston, 
we  have  an  incomplete  series  extending  through  more  than 
forty  years,  from  September,  1786,  to  the  end  of  the  year  1827. 
Overlapping  a  part  of  that  period,  and  continuing  into  the  pe- 
riod that  has  been  covered  by  our  Minnesota  newspapers,  is 
the  society's  file  of  the  "New  Hampshire  Patriot,"  from  1809  to 
the  end  of  1855.  Thus  for  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  years, 
beginning  in  1665,  this  society's  library  possesses,  in  these  suc- 
cessive series  of  newspapers,  an  almost  continuous  contempo- 
rary record  of  the  chief  events  of  history. 


634  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

I  want  to  say  to  any  gentleman  who  lias  not  been  in  the 
,habit  of  reading  history  in  the  newspapers  but  has  confined 
himself  to  published  books,  that  he  loses  much  aid  for  obtain- 
ing a  thorough  insight  and  understanding  of  any  particular 
event.  The  best  account  of  any  event,  the  best  picture  and  de- 
tailed description  of  it,  you  will  find,  according  to  my  experi- 
ence, in  the  newspapers  of  the  period. 

A  good  illustration  of  the  historical  value  of  newspapers 
came  under  my  observation  during  a  visit  in  the  State  of  Rhode 
Island  last  summer.  There  is  a  great  historical  society  in 
Rhode  Island,  one  of  the  largest  institutions  there;  and  one  of 
the  great  historical  events  in  that  state  was  the  seizure  and 
burning  of  the  British  vessel  "Gaspee"  in  the  year  1772.  That 
was  the  first  overt  act  of  the  American  patriots  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.  It  preceded  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
by  four  years,  and  naturally  it  is  a  great  event  in  the  history  of 
Bhode  Island,  and  it  is  constantly  commemorated  there  in 
many  ways  and  on  many  occasions.  In  the  reading  room  of 
their  fine  Historical  Society  building,  which  is  situated  near 
the  buildings  of  Brown  University,  is  a  large  painting  depicting 
that  event.  On  one  of  the  walls  near  by  is  the  portrait  of  the 
man  who  was  said  to  be  the  leader  of  the  band  of  patriots  who 
assaulted  and  captured  the  ship,  and  it  stated  the  date  of  the 
event  to  be  a  particular  time.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the  date 
was  one  which  I  had  not  read  of  before,  and  I  asked  the  at- 
tendant whether  it  was  correct.  He  looked  at  the  card  on  the 
portrait,  and  then  went  off  and  presently  brought  a  silver  cup 
that  had  been  presented  to  the  Historical  Society  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  commemoration  of  the  same  event  a  few  years  ago, 
and  on  the  silver  cup  was  another  date,  entirely  different  from 
that  on  the  portrait.  I  thought  it  very  strange  that  right  at 
headquarters  we  should  find  two  inconsistent  dates  of  such  an 
event,  and  it  had  a  somewhat  disturbing  effect  upon  the  official 
of  the  library.  He  proceeded  to  look  the  question  up,  and  said, 
"The  secretary  of  this  society  has  just  prepared  an  important 
paper  on  this  subject,  and  it  will  give  us  the  date."  So  that 
paper  was  resorted  to,  but  it  stated  no  date  at  all.  I  then  said 
to  him,  "What  was  the  name  of  the  newspaper  published  in 
the  State  of  Rhode  Island  in  the  year  1772?"    He  replied, 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  535 

"The  Providence  Gazette  was  published  at  that  ti  ,  and  we 
have  the  files."  I  said,  "Very  well,  get  that  newspaper,  and  I 
warrant  that  you  will  find  all  about  it  and  find  it  correctly 
stated."  Accordingly  he  got  down  the  files  of  the  newspaper, 
and  there  we  found  an  excellent  report,  just  as  you  would  find 
in  the  Pioneer  Press  tomorrow  for  any  event  occurring  today 
in  St.  Paul  within  the  observation  of  a  reporter.  It  was  short, 
but  it  was  a  much  clearer  and  more  specific  account  of  the 
event  than  any  I  had  ever  seen.  And  in,  addition  there  was 
the  proclamation  of  the  British  governor  of  Rhode  Island, 
describing  the  same  event  and  offering  a  reward  for  the  cap- 
ture of  the  offenders.  The  newspaper  report  and  the  procla- 
mation gave  a  different  date  from  either  of  those  given  on  the 
portrait  and  on  the  cup;  and  the  newspaper,  having!  been 
published  immediately  after  the  event,  was  certainly  au- 
thentic. 

Now  I  venture  to  say  that  we  make  a  mistake,  all  of  us 
who  have  access  to  the  files  of  newspapers,  if  we  do  not  go  to 
them  for  the  best  account  of  any  of  the  events  in  our  history. 
Therefore  I  think  that  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  useful 
departments  of  the  Library  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  So- 
ciety is  its  great  collection  of  newspapers.  This  is  one  of  its 
best  lines  of  work  for  the  preservation  of  the  history  of  Minne- 
sota, well  performed  to  the  present  time,  and  needful  to  be  con- 
tinued for  future  generations. 

In  addition  to  the  benefit  of  the  newspapers  as  mere  his- 
tory, and  as  furnishing  the  materials  of  better  history  in  the 
future  and  of  the  events  that  are  occurring  today,  better  than 
we  can  get  elsewhere,  this  collection  is  of  vast  business  value 
to  the  State.  It  has  been  well  remarked,  that  every  piece  of 
property,  in  every  State,  at  least  once  in  a  generation,  upon 
the  average,  passes  through  the  hands  of  the  law,  under  an 
administrator  or  sheriff  or  trustees  or  some  legal  proceedings, 
by  which  the  title  to  the  property  is  derived.  Those  proceed- 
ings are  all  advertised  and  referred  to  in  the  newspapers. 
Thus  we  have  here,  and  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society  is 
perpetuating,  the  history  of  the  title  of  every  man's  property 
in  the  State  of  Minnesota. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  have  detained  you  too  long.  I 
only  intended  to  touch  upon  some  features  of  the  society's 


(336  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

work  that  had  not  been  mentioned  before,  but  I  wanted  you 
all  to  know,  and  we  want  the  public  to  know,  that  this  society 
has  done  good  work  for  the  people  of  Minnesota.  This  work 
must  be  continued,  and  it  deserves  the  good  will  of  the  public 
and  of  the  State. 


Previous  to  the  address  by  Colonel  Clough,  a  song,  composed 
by  Von  Suppe,  entitled  "My  Native  Land,"  was  sung  by  Mr.  J. 
Warren  Turner,  of  Minneapolis,  with  piano  accompaniment  by 
Mr.  Charles  G.  Titcomb. 

After  that  address  the  audience  rose  and  sang 

AMERICA. 

My  country,  'tis  of  thee,  My  native  country,  thee, 

Sweet  land  of  liberty,  Land  of  the  noble,  free, 

Of  thee  I  sing;  Thy  name  I  love; 

Land  where  my  fathers  died,  I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills, 

Land  of  the  pilgrims'  pride,  Thy  woods  and  templed  hills; 

From  every  mountain-side  My  heart  with  rapture  thrills, 

Let  freedom  ring.  Like  that  above. 

Our  fathers'  God,  to  Thee, 
Author  of  liberty, 

To  Thee  I  sing; 
Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  freedom's  holy  light, 
Protect  us  by  Thy  might. 

Great  God,  our  King. 

The  Anniversary  Celebration  was  then  concluded  with  a 
benediction  by  Bishop  Whipple. 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  XX. 


OBITUAKIES. 


ELIAS  F&ANKLIN  DRAKE. 

Elias  Franklin  Drake  was  born  in  the  village  of  Urbana, 
Ohampaign  county,  Ohio,  on  December  21st,  1813,  and  died 
in  the  seventy-ninth  year  of  his  life,  on  February  14th,  1892,  at 
Hotel  Del  Coronado,  San  Diego,  California.  His  death  was  the 
close  of  a  long  life  of  unusual  activity  and  success. 

About  the  close  of  the  last  century,  Ithamar  Drake,  the 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  removed  from  Penn- 
sylvania to  Warren  county,  Ohio,  with  his  wife  and  four  chil- 
dren, Henry,  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Mary.  This  was  during  the 
pioneer  period  of  Ohio,  and  Ithamar  Drake,  like  the  great  num- 
ber of  pioneers,  engaged  in  farming,  having  purchased  a  tract 
of  land  which  was  heavily  timbered.  He  was. successful  and 
became  a  prosperous  and  contented  farmer.  His  children  were 
reared  on  the  farm.  The  family  were  members  of  the  regular 
Baptist  church,  and  in  intelligence,  morals,  and  religious  life, 
were  much  in  advance  of  the  general  average  of  pioneers  in 
southern  Ohio  at  that  day.  Subsequently  and  at  the  early  set- 
tlement of  Indiana,  Ithamar  Drake,  with  his  son  Isaiac  ajudl  his 
daughter  Mary,  who  married  Harvey  Pope,  removed  to  Shelby 
county,  Indiana. 

The  son,  Dr.  Henry  Drake,  remained  in  Ohio,  married  Han- 
nah Spining,  and  was  the  father  of  Ellas  F.  Drake.  Henry 
Drake  had  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  although  educational 
opportunities  were  limited,  he  acquired  a  good  English  edu- 
cation and  studied  Latin,  Greek,  and  music.  His  father  hav- 
ing furnished  him  with  the  necessary  money,  he  studied  medi- 
cine and  was  just  beginning  to  practice  his  profession,  when 
he  died,  leaving  his  widow  with  four  young  children  and  with 
little  means  of  support. 

Hannah  Spining,  the  mother  of  Mr.  Drake,  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Mathias  Spining,  who  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and 


533  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

was  an  active  and  ardent  patriot  in  the  Revolution.  He  fought 
in  the  American  ranks,  suffered  from;  the  outrages  committed 
by  the  British  troops  in  New  Jersey,  and  became  so  imbued 
with  hostility  to  the  English  that  he  could  never  forgive 
them  nor  forget  the  wrongs  done.  He  married  Hannah  Haines, 
a  daughter  of  one  of  the  leading  families  of  New  Jersey.  After 
the  close  of  the  Revolution,  he  with  his  wife  settled  in  Warren 
county,  Ohio,  upon  a  tract  of  land  which  was  granted  to  him 
by  the  government  for  his  services  in  the  war.*  Here  he 
raised  a  large  family  in  prosperity.  He  was  a  conscientious 
Christian,  originally  a  Presbyterian,  but  subsequently  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  Church. 

The  four  children  of  Dr.  Henry  Drake  were  Ithamar,  born 
in  1811,  Elias,  born  in  1813,  Maria,  born  in  1815,  and  Henry, 
born  in  1818.  Upon  the  death  of  the  father,  about  1820,  his 
widow  and  children  were  given  a  home  upon  Mathias  Spining's 
farm  in  a  small  house  built  by  Elias  Spining,  a  brother  of  Mrs. 
Drake,  and  for  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  named. 
Hannah  Drake  was  a  woman  of  strong  character,  who  bravely 
undertook  the  task  of  educating  her  children  and  giving  them 
such  advantages  as  were  within  her  power.  There  were  in 
those  days  no  free  schools,  and  none  of  any  sort  except  in  win- 
ter.  Mrs,  Drake  boarded  the  schoolmaster  to  pay  for  the  tui- 
tion of  her  children. 

At  the  early  age  of  seven  began  the  life  work  of  Elias  F. 
Drake.  During  the  spring  and  summer  he  worked  on  the 
farm,  and  attended  school  in  the  winter.  There  was  little  or 
no  leisure  time  during  winter  or  summer.  Farm  products 
were  raised  and  sold  for  sustenance,  and  the  mother  spun  wool 
and  flax  for  clothing.  While  a  boy,  for  some  months  Mr.  Drake 
was  employed  in  a  printing  office  at  Lebanon,  the  county  seat 
of  Warren  county.  After  a  few  months'  trial,  the  printing 
business  not  agreeing  with  his  health,  he  returned  to  the  farm. 
Shortly  after,  in  1828,  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  he  became  a 

*An  obituary  no'tice,  written  by  Judge  Firaneis  Dunllevy  and  published 
in  1830  in  the  Lebanon  Star,  gives  a  full  account  of  the  Revolutionary  ser- 
vices of  Mathias  Spining.  Upon  examination  of  the  land  records  it  appears 
that  on  December  7th,  1779,  John  C.  Symmes  conveyed  to  Mathias  Spining 
200  acres  near  Lebanon,  the  deed  reciting  that  the  consideration  was  "$200 
in  certificates  of  debts  of  the  TJnited  States."  This  land  is  the  tract  re- 
ferred to  above  as  being  granted  by  the  government.  It  would  seem  prob- 
able that  these  certificates  were  received  for  services  in  the  Revolution.  Mr 
Drake  in  his  lifetime  stated  that  his  grandfather  Spining  had  received  his 
land  through  the  government  for  services  in  the  Revolution. 


ELIAS  FRANKLIN  DRAKE.  539 

clerk  in  the  general  store  of  Henderson  &  Hardy  in  Lebanon, 
where  he  remained  for  three  years,  acquiring  some  knowledge 
of  business  and  employing  his  spare  time  in  reading  and  study- 
ing. 

In  the  winter  of  1831-32  he  formed  a  partnership  under  the 
name  of  Jameson,  Eddy,  Drake  &  Co.,  and  went  into  business 
in  Lebanon,  conducting  a  general  store.  In  February,  1832, 
Mr.  Drake  and  his  senior  partner,  Mr.  Jameson,  started  for 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  to  purchase  a  stock  of  goods.  In 
those  early  days  such  a  trip  was  not  an  ordinary  occurrence 
and  occupied  much  time,  the  travel  being  by  stage  and  boat  to 
Baltimore.  On  this  trip  Mr.  Drake,  for  the  first  time  and 
at  the  age  of  eighteen,  visited  the  cities  of  Cincinnati,  Wheel- 
ing,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York.  He  retained  vivid 
recollections  of  his  experiences  on  this  trip  and  of  places  which 
he  visited.  He  passed  at  Bordentown  the  residence  of  Joseph 
Bonaparte,  who,  in  company  with  Prince  Murat,  was  on  the 
same  boat  with  Mr.  Drake,  and  their  features  were  distinctly 
remembered  by  him. 

After  a  short  time  it  was  found  that  the  business  of  Jame- 
son, Eddy,  Drake  &  Co.  was  not  sufficiently  large  for  so  many 
partners,  and  Mr.  Drake  sold  out.  With  a  friend  he'  then 
made  a  journey  through  Indiana  to  Indianapolis  .and  other 
places.  On  his  return  to  Lebanon,  he  found  the  place  in  ex- 
citement owing  to  cholera,  which  had  that  year  (1832)  made  its 
appearance.  He  took  part  in  the  care  of  the  sick,  a  companion 
afflicted  with  the  disease  dying  in  his  arms.  For  the  follow- 
ing three  years  Mr.  Drake  was  employed  in  the  store  of  Samuel 
Hixon.  This  ended  his  life  in  Lebanon.  He  had  now  attained 
his  majority.  Without  the  advantages  of  a  complete  education, 
which  is  now  placed  within  the  reach  of  all,  he  had  made  the 
most  of  his  opportunities.  He  had  improved  his  brief  school 
days,  and  his  leisure  time  had  been  employed  in  reading  and 
studying  the  books  within  his  reach.  He  acquired  habits  of 
study  which  never  left  him  in  after  life.  In  the  main  a  self- 
educated  man,  his  knowledge  and  information  were  accurate 
and  extensive.  Trained  in  early  years  in  the  school  of  adver- 
sity, he  had  already  acquired  when  he  became  a  man  those 
habits  of  industry  and  frugality  which  characterized  his  life, 


4340  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

and  which  were  the  foundation  of  the  fortune  that  he  accumu- 
lated. At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  he  had  already  visited 
the  chief  cities  of  his  country,  and  had  gained  an  insight  into 
their  resources  and  future  possibilities  not  possessed  by  many 
men  of  his  time. 

In  1835  Mr.  Drake  went  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  and  became 
chief  clerk  of  the  state  treasurer,  Joseph  Whitehill,  who  had 
lived  near  Lebanon.  In  this  capacity  he  had  much  responsi- 
bility thrown  upon  his  shoulders.  Although  a  Whig  in  poli- 
tics, he  was  selected  by  the  Democratic  Governor  Lucas  in  the 
fall  of  1836  to  visit  Washington  on  business  for  the  State  of 
Ohio  with  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Andrew  Jackson, 
with  whom  he  had  a  personal  interview.  He  returned  to  Co- 
lumbus in  time  to  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  General 
Harrison  in  1836.  It  may  be  mentioned  in  passing  that  Mr. 
Drake,  like  his  ancestors  and  most  of  his  relatives,  was  a  Whig, 
and  he  remained  one  till  the  organization  of  the  Eepublican 
party,  which  he  joined,  and  of  which  he  continued  to  be  a  mem- 
ber during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  While  in  the  Ohio  Treas- 
ury, Mr.  Drake  began  the  study  of  law,  the  late  Noah  H. 
Swayne,  associate  justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
being  his  preceptor.  By  rising  af  five  in  the  morning  and 
studying  at  night  he  was  able  to  keep  up  his  studies,  anc{ 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Delaware,  Ohio. 

In  1837  Mr.  Drake  accepted  the  position  of  cashier  of  the 
Bank  of  Xenia,  which  subsequently  became  a  branch  of  the 
State  Bank  of  Ohio.  This  position  he  filled  for  over  eleven 
years.  Xenia  was  a  bright  and  thriving  country  town  in 
Greene  county,  about  twenty-four  miles  from  Lebanon.  Mr. 
Drake  identified  himself  with  the  place,  and  was  soon  one  of 
its  most  influential  citizens.  He  was  a  member  of  the  town 
council,  served  in  various  military  offices,  organized  and  was 
captain  of  a  fire  company,  was  chief  officer  in  two  turnpike 
roads,  wais  trustee  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  became  presi- 
dent of  the  Dayton  and  Xenia  Eailroad  Company  and  of  the 
Dayton  and  Western  Eailroad  Company,  and  was  largely  in- 
strumental in  the  construction  of  the  Little  Miami  and  Colum* 
bus  and  Xenia  railroads.  In  1841  he  served  as  a  member  of 
the  Whig  Central  Committee  of  Greene  county,  and  was  sec- 
retary of  a  public  meeting  called  to  observe  May  14th  as  a  day 


ELI  AS  FRANKLIN  DRAKE.  54  J_ 

of  fasting  and  prayer  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  President 
Harrison.  During  the  same  year  he  was  president  of  the 
Greene  County  Agricultural  Society.  In  1843  he  was  active 
in  organizing  a  so-called  "Home  League"  for  the  township. 
These  leagues  were  very  common,  their  object  being  the  "en- 
couragement of  American  enterprise  and  the  protection  of 
American  industry  and  capital  against  foreign  competition." 
The  members  were  pledged  to  buy  no  goods  but  those  of  Ameri- 
can manufacture.  Mr.  Drake  was  appointed  a  delegate  to  the 
state  convention.  To  his  dying  day  he  remained  a  strong  sup- 
porter of  the  principle  of  protection. 

In  1841,  Mr.  Drake  married  Frances  Mary,  the  youngest 
daughter  of  Major  James  Galloway  of  Xenia,  The  death  of  his 
wife  in  the  spring  of  1844  left  him  a  widower  with  one  child, 
Sarah  Frances,  who  subsequently  became  "the  wife  of  Mr. 
Charles  S.  Rogers. 

During  his  residence  in  Xenia,  Mr.  Drake  served  for  three 
terms  in  the  legislature  of  Ohio,  and  he  was  prominent  in  legis- 
lative and  political  work.  More  particular  reference  to  his 
public  services  will  be  made  in  the  latter  part  of  this  sketch. 

In  1848  Mr.  Drake  was  offered  and  induced  to  accept  the 
position  of  president  of  the  Columbus  Insurance  Company,  then 
a  popular  institution  owned  and  controlled  by  some  of  the  lead- 
ing men  of  Ohio.  He  soon  found  that  the  company  was  in  a 
hopelessly  embarrassed  condition,  and  it  shortly  afterward 
failed  and  went  out  of  business.  After  a  two  years'  residence 
in  Columbus,  he  returned  to  Xenia  and  formed  a  company  to 
improve,  for  a  summer  watering  place,  springs  near  Xenia, 
called  Tawawa  or  Xenia  Springs,  and  built  a  hotel  and  many 
cottages.  The  enterprise  proved  unsuccessful,  and  the  hotel 
was  subsequently  converted  into  "Wilberforce  College." 

About  this  time  Mr.  Drake  formed  a  business  engagement 
with  Andrew  De  Graff  in  the  construction  of  railroads.  From 
this  time,  till  shortly  before  his  death,  he  was  almost  exclu- 
sively and  continuously  engaged  in  building  and  operating 
railroads.  He  practically  saw  the  beginning  of  railroads  in 
this  country,  and  was  one  of  the  most  active  and  successful 
of  railroad  men  in  undertaking  and  successfully  carrying 
through  railroad  enterprises.    In  company  with  Mr.  De  Graff, 

41 


g42  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

he  built  the  Pennsylvania  and  Indianapolis  railroad  and  the 
Greenyille  and  Miami  railroad.  He  organized  and  became 
president  of  the  Dayton,  Xenia  and  Belpre  Railroad  Company, 
constructing  the  road  from  Xenia  to  Dayton.  The  roads  of 
the  Dayton  and  Western  Railroad  Company,  the  Cincinnati, 
Lebanon  and  Springfield  Turnpike  Company,  the  Xenia  and 
Columbus  Turnpike  Company,  and  the  Xenia  and  Jamestown 
Company,  were  all  constructed  under  his  administration.  His 
business  required  much  traveling,  and  he  became  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  many  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  country  and 
with  the  large  cities  of  the  eastern  states.  In  the  year  1860, 
while  in  New  York  on  business  with  Valentine  Winters  of 
Dayton,  he  met  Andrew  De  Graff,  who,  in  company  with  Ed- 
mund Rice  and  William  Crooks  of  St.  Paul,  was  seeking  for 
some  one  to  build  the  railroad  from  St.  Paul  to  Minneapolis 
which  is  now  a  portion  of  the  Great  Northern  railway.  Mr. 
Drake  and  Mr.  Winters  determined  to  visit  St.  Paul  and  did  so 
in  July,  1860,  and  then  made  an  agreement  to  build  the  rail- 
road. In  September  they  returned  with  supplies  and  mate- 
rials and  began  the  construction  of  the  road,  which  they  com- 
pleted on  July  2nd,  1862,  being  the  first  ten  miles  of  railroad 
constructed  in  the  State  of  Minnesota.  Mr.  Drake  returned 
to  Xenia,  where  his  family  had  remained,  and,  after  closing 
up  his  business  matters  in  Ohio,  removed  in  1864  to  St.  Paul, 
where  he  continued  to  reside  till  his  death. 

While  residing  in  Xenia,  on  August  21st,  1856,  Mr,  Drake 
married  Caroline  McClurg,  the  daughter  of  Alexander  McClurg 
of  Pittsburg,  Pa,  He  purchased  and  fitted  up  a  large,  comfort- 
able home  at  Xenia,  where!  four  children  by  his  second  wife 
were  born,  and  where  with  his  family  he  lived  seven  happy 
years  before  his  removal  to  St.  Paul. 

Shortly  after  his  removal  to  St.  Paul,  Mr.  Drake  became 
associated  with  Horace  Thompson,  James  E.  Thompson,  John 
L.  Merriam,  and  others,  in  the  building  of  the  St.  Paul  & 
Sioux  City  railroad  and  the  Sioux  City  &  St  Paul  railroad 
and  their  tributary  roads.  For  more  than  sixteen  years  he 
was  pi^sident  of  the  companies  owning  these  roads  and  their 
branches.  Under  the  most  discouraging  circumstances,  and 
during  the  financial  panic  of  1871  and  the  grasshopper  plague 


ELIAS  FKANKLIN  DRAKE.  643 

in  southern  Minnesota,  these  gentlemen  carried  through  their 
enterprise,  which  has  resulted  in  adding  materially  to  the 
prosperity  and  influence  of  the  city  of  St.  Paul.  These  railroad 
companies  are  the  only  ones  then  existing  in  Minnesota  which 
did  not  become  insolvent  and  pass  into  the  hands  of  receivers. 
To  a  great  degree  the  credit  for  the  successful  prosecution  of 
these  enterprises  is  due  to  Mr.  Drake.  The  roads  were  finally 
completed,  and  in  1880  were  united  with  the  system  now  known 
as  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Omaha  railway.  Upon 
the  occasion  of  Mr.  Drake's  retirement  from  the  presidency  of 
the  St.  Paul  &  Sioux  City  Railroad  Company,  on  March  3d, 
1880,  the  directors  in  appreciation  of  his  services  adopted  and 
spread  upon  their  records  the  following  resolutions: 

Resolved,  That  the  retirement  of  the  Hon.  E.  F.  Drake  from  the 
presidency  of  this  company,  after  a  continuous  service  of  more  than 
sixteen  years,  is  an  event  that  demands  a  formal  expression  of  our 
high  appreciation  of  his  most  efficient  services  as  such  president,  and 
as  the  leading  stockholder,  director,  and  promoter  of  the  enterprise 
that  has  so  long  associated  him  with  us. 

During  the  long  years  of  financial  embarrassment  and  distress 
which  has  compelled  the  bankruptcy  and  reorganization  of  so  many 
well  founded  and  ably  conducted  railroad  companies,  the  financial 
affairs  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Sioux  City  Railroad  have  been  so  adminis- 
tered as  to  protect  'and  preserve  all  the  interests  and  investment  of  the 
stockholders,  and  to  continue  and  improve  its  accommodations  to  the 
people,  and  generally  to  meet  fully  its  obligations  to  the  state,  and  to 
effect  the  purposes  of  its  organization  and  construction. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  recent  negotiations  with  other  powerful  and 
friendly  railroad  interests  to  be  this  day  consummated,  Mr.  Drake 
has  crowned  his  long  and  eminently  successful  administration  by  an 
achievement  of  which  he  and  we  may  all  be  proud,  and  for  which  he 
is  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  every  stockholder  in  the  road,  and  of 
every  citizen  of  St.  Paul  or  of  Minnesota. 

From  this  time  Mr.  Drake  took  little  active  part  in  thQ 
management  of  railroads,  but  devoted  himself  to  the  care  of 
his  various  properties.  In  1882  he  took  a  needed  rest  and  with 
his  family  spent  a  year  abroad. 

During  his  nearly  thirty  years  of  residence  in  St.  Paul,  Mr. 
Drake  was  at  all  times  active  in  promoting  the  interests  of 
the  city  and  was  prominently  identified  with  all  public  matters. 
He  served  many  years  as  director  of  the  Merchants'  National 
Bank,  the  St.  Paul  Trust  Company,  the  St.  Paul  Fire  &  Marine 
Insurance  Company,  and  other  financial  institutions.  From  its 
organization  he  was  one  of  the  most  active  and  efficient  mem- 
bers of  the  St.  Paul  Chamber  of  Commerce.    He  took  deep  in- 


£44  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

terest  in  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  of  which  he  was 
a  councilor  from  1868  until  his  death,  and  president  for  the 
year  1873. 

During  his  entire  life  he  took  part  in  political  affairs,  and 
was  frequently  chosen  to  fill  political  positions  of  importance. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Eepublican  convention  at  Baltimore 
which  nominated  Mr.  Lincoln  for  his  second  term,  and  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Eepublican  convention  at  Chicago  which 
nominated  President  Garfield.  In  this  latter  convention  he  is 
credited  with  being  the  author  of  the  resolution  which  broke 
ihe  "unit  rule"  and  made  the  nomination  of  Garfield  possible. 
In  1873  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  Minnesota  and  served 
two  y  ears. 

His  record  as  a  legislator  deserves  more  than  a  passing 
notice.  In  Ohio  he  was  three  times  chosen  a  member  of  the 
lower  house  of  the  legislature  from  Xenia,,  in  1844,  1845  and 
1848.  In  his  second  term  he  was  speaker  of  the  House,  being 
then  the  youngest  speaker  who  had  ever  served  in  Ohio.  The 
journals  of  the  Ohio  legislature  bear  ample  testimony  to  his 
sound  judgment  and  ability. 

In  the  state  elections  in  1844  the  Whigs  were  successful, 
their  candidate  for  governor,  Mordecai  Hartley,  defeating  the 
Democratic  candidate,  David  Tod,  who  during  the  campaign 
had  earned  the  nickname  of  "Pot-metal  Tod"  bj  stating  in  a 
speech  that  "anything  which  bore  the  government  stamp  as 
money  would  answer  all  purposes  of  a  currency,  even  if  it 
were  pot-metal."  In  the  House  the  Whigs  had  a  good  working 
majority.  Mr.  Drake  mon  showed  himself  to  be  an  active,  in- 
telligent, and  influential  member.  As  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Incorporations,  most  of  the  important  legislation 
passed  through  his  hands.  The  bill  creating  the  State  Bank 
of  Ohio,  of  which  he  was  largely  the  author,  received  his  active 
support,  and  was  the  means  of  placing  the  finances  of  the  state 
on  a  sound  basis.  He  was  the  author  of  the  general  railroad 
law  which  is  substantially  in  force  in  Ohio  today.  Many  ques- 
tions of  national  importance  were  considered  in  this  session  of 
the  legislature,  and  Mr.  Drakes  speeches  and  voftes,  generally 
in  entire  accord  with  his  partly,  demonstrate  in  a  remarkable 
manner  his  keen  foresight  and.  sound  political  views.    The  an- 


ELIAS  FRAXKXIN  DRAKE.  645 

nexation  of  Texas,  tlien  under  consideration  in  Congress,  was  a 
burning  question.  The  Whigs  opposed  and  the  Democrats 
favored  annexation.  A  committee  of  the  House  introduced  a 
resolution  protesting  against  annexation  upon  the  following 
grounds :  "1.  Because  such  proceedings  would  be  unconstitu- 
tional and  void;  2.  Because  it  would  involve  our  country  in  a 
war  with  Mexico  without  just  cause;  3.  Because  it  would 
make  our  country  liable  for  the  debt  of  Texas  without  any 
sufficient  indemnity;  4.  Because  it  would  involve  us  in  the 
guilt,  and  subject  our  country  to  the  reproach,  of  cherishing 
and  perpetuating  the  results  of  slavery."  This  protest  re- 
ceived Mr.  Drake's  hearty  support  except  as  to  the  first  ground. 
He  was  undetermined  whether  a  treaty  of  annexation  would  be 
void  or  not.  On  his  motion  the  words  "and  void"  were  stricken 
out,  and  the  protest  was  then  adopted  by  38  to  31,  a  strict 
party  vote. 

The  Democratic  majority  at  a  preceding  session  of  the 
legislature  had  adopted  resolutions  censuring  John  Quincy 
Adams  for  presenting  a  petition  asking  for  a  dissolution  of  the 
Union.  A  resolution  was  adopted  on  December  20th,  1844, 
rescinding  this  resolution,  by  a  vote  of  40  to  22,  two  Democrats 
voting  aye.  In  support  of  the  resolution  Mr.  Drake  showed  the 
absurdity  of  the  former  resolution  by  reading  from  the  proceed- 
ings of  Congress,  which  showed  that  Mr.  Adams,  in  presenting 
the  petition,  repeatedly  expressed  his  hostility  to  its  object,  and 
declared  his  wish  to  have  it  referred  to  a  select  committee  in 
order  that  a  suitable  report  might  be  drawn  up  adverse  to  the 
prayer  of  the  petition.  In  answer  to  a  remark  by  a  Democratic 
member  that  he  would  be  willing  to  censure  those  of  his  own 
party  under  similar  circumstances,  Mr.  Drake  inquired  of  the 
member  whether  "he  had  forgotten  the  conduct  of  his  nullify- 
ing friends  of  the  South,  in  openly  threatening  a  dissolution  of 
the  Union  and  expressing  their  determination  to  have  Texas-, 
either  with  or  without  the  Union." 

On  December  31st,  1844,  he  opposed  an  amendment  to 
resolutions  relating  to  the  Oregon  difficulty  with  Great  Britain, 
which  protested  against  the  surrender  by  compromise  or  other- 
wise of  any  territory  south  of  latitude  54°  40'.  To  have 
adopted  and  enforced  the  amendment  would  have  precipitated 
a  war  with  Great  Britain.     On  January  2nd,  1845,  Mr.  Drake 


g46  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

voted  with  the  minority  against  a  resolution  to  print  certain 
public  reports  in  the  German  language.  The  opposition 
claimed  that  the  resolution  was  tainted  with  demagogism.  He 
voted  against  a  resolution  declaring  a  right  to  "alter,  amend, 
or  repeal7'  existing  charters  of  incorporation,  upon  the  ground 
that  such  action  would  be  void  under  the  United  States  Con- 
stitution, and  the  courts  shortly  after  expressly  so  held.  A  bill 
to  license  and  regulate  taverns  caused  much  dicussion  and  was 
vigorously  opposed  by  the  liquor  interests.  Mr.  Drake  spoke 
and  voted  in  favor  of  rigid  restrictions  of  the  liquor  traffic. 
Duirjing  this  session  Tbm  Corwin  was  elected  United  States 
Senator,  receiving  Mr.  Drake's  active  support. 

For  the  session  of  1845-46  Mr.  Drake  was  chosen  speaker  of 
the  House,  "the  Whigs  again  having  a  majority  in  that  body. 
The  Xenia  Bank,  of  which  Mr.  Drake  was  cashier,  had  in  the 
meantime  become  a  branch  of  the  State  Bank  under  the  law 
passed  at  the  preceding  session.  This  bank  law  was  vigor- 
ously opposed  by  the  Democrats,  and  under  a  provision  of  the 
State  constitution  which  provided  that  "no  judge  of  aaay  court 
of  law  or  equity,  secretary  of  state,  adjutant  general,  *  *  * 
or  person  holding  any  office  under  the  authority  of  this  state 
*  *  *  shall  be  eligible  as  a  candidate  for  or  have  a  seat  in 
the  General  Assembly,"  they  vigorously  but  unsuccessfully 
contested  Mr.  Drake's  right  to  a  seat  and  his  election  as 
speaker.  In  those  days  party  politics  greatly  delayed  and  ham- 
pered legislation.  The  minority,  by  dilatory  proceedings,  were 
enabled  to  confuse  and  obstruct  legislation.  Mr.  Drake  pos- 
sessed a  thorough  knowledge  of  parliamentary  law,  and  by  his 
prompt  and  accurate  rulings  aided  in  the  expedition  of  public 
business.  He  naturally  incurred  *the  active  hostility  of  the 
Democratic  members,  but  at  the  end  of  the  session  without  a 
negative  vote  a  resolution  was  adopted  tendering  the  thanks  of 
the  House  to  Mr.  Drake  "for  the  able  and  impartial  manner 
in  whish  he  has  presided  over  the  deliberations  during  the  pres- 
ent session." 

It  is  interesting,  in  view  of  the  prominence  recently  given 
to  the  ruling  of  Speaker  Reed  in  Congress  in  counting  members 
present  who  refuse  to  vote  as  part  of  a  quorum,  to  note  that 
Mr.  Drake  while  speaker  made  the  same  ruling.     During  the 


ELIAS  FRANKLIN  DRAKE.  647 

session  a  bill  was  passed,  less  than  a  quorum  voting.  A  Demo- 
cratic paper  having  reported  that  the  speaker  and  the  House, 
without  having  a  quorum,  undertook  to  pass  a  bill,  Mr.  Drake 
in  the  House,  referring  to  this  newspaper  report,  said:  "Now 
I  appeal  to  every  candid  man  who  hears  me  to  say  whether  this 
report,  though  true  as  far  as  it  goes,  does  not  in  fact  convey 
to  the  reader  a  falsehood.  It  leads  its  readers  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  House  and  its  speaker  have  violated  the  consti- 
tution and  their  oaths  in  passing  a  bill  without  a  quorum 
present.  What  would  have  been  a  true  record?  By  adding 
the  following  report:  Before  the  vote  was  declared,  Messrs 
Higgins  and  Vallandigham  appeared  within  the  bar,  and  the 
clerk,  by  order  of  the  speaker,  called  their  names,  but  they  did 
not  vote;  whereupon  the  speaker  said,  'There  is  no  quorum 
voting,  but  there  is  a  quorum  present,  and,  a  majority  of  all 
present  having  voted  in  the  affirmative,  the  bill  is  passed.' " 

In  January,  1846,  a  resolution  was  offered  to  the  effect  that 
all  territory  held  by  the  national  government  pnrchasedl  or? 
conquered  is  subject  to  national  control  and  to  be  governed  by 
such  institutions  as  the  national  will  may  dictate.  The  reso- 
lution was  obviously  aimed  against  the  extension  of  slavery. 
Mr.  Drake  offered  an  amendment,  "that  the  State  of  Ohio,  by 
the  foregoing  declaration,  distinctly  declares  that  she  seeks 
not  in  any  manner  to  interfere  with  the  domestic  institutions 
of  her  sister  states,"  which  amendment  was  adopted,  and  the 
resolution  as  amended  was  adopted,  receiving  Mr.  Drake's 
support.  Mr.  Drake  procured  the  passage  of  a  resolution  for 
the  formation  of  a  sinking  fund  for  payment  of  the  state  debt. 

On  January  24th,  1846,  he  with  sixteen  other  members 
signed  and  presented  a  protest  against  an  act  which  had  been 
passed  to  divorce  one  Dunbar  from  his  wife.  The  protest  says, 
"No  cause  for  the  divorce  exists,  except  that  the  wife  is  insane, 
not  hopelessly  insane,  but  so  insane  that  her  confinement  in 
the  Lunatic  Asylum  is  necessary,  and  she  is  unable  to  provide 
or  care  for  herself.  Against  this  mockery  of  everything  sacred 
in  the  dearest  relations  of  life  we  protest,  because,  1.  The  bill 
violates  a  private  contract  by  which  the  wife  was  entitled  to 
the  aid  and  comfort  of  her  husband;  to  his  protection  and 
support  until  death  should  separate  them;  and  to  a  share  of  his 


g48  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

estate  and  earnings;  and  the  bill,  being  in  violation  of  this 
obligatory  contract,  is  unconstitutional,  null,  and  void.  2. 
The  passage  of  the  act  is  a  usurpation  of  judicial  power  and  is 
therefore  unconstitutional,  null,  and  void.  3.  It  impairs  con- 
fidence in  the  relation  of  husband  and  wife  by  adopting  as  a 
principle  that  insanity,  disease  or  misfortune,  and  not  fault, 
shall  be  sufficient  cause  to  justify  the  desertion  and  abandon- 
ment of  the  party  thus  overcome  by  misfortune.  The  bill  is 
unjust  in  principle,  immoral  in  its  tendency,  and  destructive 
of  the  best  interests  of  society.  4.  It  is  unwise,  unpolitic,  and 
inexpedient,  to  grant  special  acts  of  divorce  by  the  Legisla- 
ture." 

On  a  bill  to  prevent  gambling,  Mr.  Drake  did  not  hesitate 
to  object  to  those  provisions  which  prohibited  the  sale  of  all 
but  a  certain  description  of  playing  cards,  and  which  rewarded 
informers.  On  February  9th,  1846,  he  voted  in  favor  of  the 
repeal  of  the  state  fugitive  slave  law;  but  he  was  in  the  minor- 
ity on  this  question.  In  the  same  month  he  proposed  an 
amendment  to  the  tax  law,  which  was  adopted  and  is  still  in 
force,  to  the  effect  that  merchants  should,  be  taxed  on  tthe 
average  amount  in  value  of  their  stocks  of  merchandise  for 
the  whole  year,  instead  of  the  amount  at  any  one  time. 

Mr.  Drake  served  for  the  third  and  last  time  in  the  legisla- 
ture of  Ohio  in  the  year  1847-48.  He  was  not  then  a  candidate 
for  the  office  of  speaker.  As  during  the  earlier  sessions,  he 
took  an  active  parti  in  legislation.  On  a  bill  to  amend  the  reg- 
istry lawT  he  took  strong  groujnd  in  favor  of  a  complete  regis- 
tration concluded  before  election  day.  Upon  constitutional 
objection  being  made  to  such  registration,  Mr.  Drake  said: 
"The  gentleman  from  Hamilton  has  read  from  the  constitution 
in  support  of  his  position,  but  what  are  the  provisions  of  the 
constitution?  Not  that  the  elector  shall  vote  when  he  pleases 
and  where  he  pleases  without  inquiry  or  restriction.  No  such 
thing.  It  only  guarantees  to  the  citizen  the  rights  of  an  elec- 
tor. What  are  the  rights  of  an  elector?  Nothing  more  nor 
less  than  the  right  to  deposit  his  vote  under  the  same  rules 
and  regulations  as  are  provided  for  every  other  citizen.  If  a 
more  strict  construction  couid  properly  be  made,  why  do  we 
not  hear  indignant  thunders  from  the  gentlemain  on  the  other 


ELIAS  FRANKLIN  DRAKE.  649 

side  at  the  law  passed  by  Ms  own  friends  to  provide  for  the 
purity  of  elections?  That  act  declares  that  the  citizen  'shall 
not  vote  in  any  county  where  his  family  does  not  reside.'  It 
matters  not  how  much  he  is  identified  with  the  place  of  his 
own  residence.  Where  does  the  legislature  get  this  authority? 
Your  law  declares  that  the  voting  in  another  state  snail  dis- 
qualify the  voter  and  debar  him  from  exercising  the  rightt  in 
Ohio.  Where  is  such  power  derived?  From  the  same  consti- 
tution under  which  the  friend  of  a  registry  law  finds  power 
to  declare  that  the  voter  shall  take  certain  steps  to  prove  his 
right  to  vote.  No  argument  can  be  fairly  urged  against  this 
law  that  does  not  exist  with  equal  force  against  all  laws  in 
anywise  restricting  the  right  of  the  voter.  This  is  no  party 
question.  It  is  one  in  which  all  should  unite  with  honest  pur- 
pose to  keep  pure  the  sacred  privilege  of  the  ballot  box." 

Senator  Corwin,  in  the  United  States  Senate,  opposed  the 
war  with  Mexico,  and  was  credited  with  having  said,  "If  I 
were  a  Mexican  I  would  tell  you :  Have  you  not  room  in  your 
own  country  to  bury  your  dead  men?  If  you  come  into  mine, 
we  will  greet  you  with  bloody  hands  and  welcome  you  to  hos- 
pitable graves.'7  Some  foolish  member  of  the  House  presented 
a  petition  asking  for  the  resignation  of  Senator  Corwin  and 
his  confinement  in  a  lunatic  asylum.  Other  members  hostile 
to  Corwin  foolishly  supported  the  petition,  and  a  long  debate 
ensued.  At  the  close,  Mr.  Drake  cleverly  demonstrated  the 
absurdity  of  the  proceeding,  and,  compelling  hi;s  opponents 
to  admit  that  if  they  were  Mexicans  they  would  surely  oppose 
the  enemies  of  their  country,  caused  it  to  be  entered 
on  the  record  that  they  admitted  that  if  they  were 
native  Mexicans  they  would  fight  against  the  Amer- 
icans, thus  taking  the  same  position  which  Mr.  Cor- 
win had  taken  in  the  Senate.  Mr.  Drake  at  this  session 
again  brought  forward  a  measure  to  provide  for  a  sinking  fund 
for  payment  of  the  public  debt,  and  succeeded  in  having  a  bill 
passed  for  that  purpose. 

On  a  question  of  submitting  to  the  voters  of  a  county  a 
loan  to  a  railroad  company,  with  the  proposed  limitation  to 
voters  who  owned  a  certain  amount  of  property,  Mr.  Drake  said 
his  democracy  did  not  lead  him  to  make  property  a  qualifica- 
tion for  exercising  the  right  of  voting  upon  any  subject  in 


650  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

which  the  whole  public  was  interested,  and  he  therefore  op- 
posed the  proposed  qualification. 

To  the  general  tax  law  Mr.  Drake  offered  an  amendment 
providing  that  every  "city  or  town  corporation  shall  specify 
upon  its  records  the  amount  required!  for  such  purpose,  and 
it  shall  not  be  lawful  to  use  such  specific  fund  for  any  other 
purpose  than  the  one  for  which  the  same  was  /specifically 
levied."  Although  Mr.  Drake's  amendment  was  not  then 
adopted,  subsequent  legislatures  recognized  its  wisdom,  and  it 
has  now  long  been  a  part  of  the  law  in  Ohio. 

Much  important  legislation  was  proposed  and  discussed 
while  Mr.  Drake  was  a  member  of  the  Ohio  legislature,  and  no 
member  took  a  more  active  part  in  framing  the  laws;  and  the 
history  of  the  past  fifty  years  has  demonstrated  that  he  was 
uniformly  in  favor  of  those  laws  which  have  since  been  most 
beneficial  to  the  people.  He  voted  with  a  minority  to  allow 
colored  persons  to  testify  in  cases  in  which  la  white  person  was 
involved.  In  1848  he  introduced  and  strongly  advocated  reso- 
lutionis  denouncing  the  Mexican  war  as  unnecessary  and 
u'njust,  deploring  a  war  which  had  for  its  sole  object  the  acqui- 
sition of  territory  by  conquest,  and  protesting  against  the 
extension  of  slavery.  He  favored;  laws  increasing  educational 
privileges  and  providing  for  libraries  in  all  school  districts, 
providing  for  roads  and  turnpikes,  regulating  judgments  and 
executions,  settling  estates  of  deceased  persons,  and  relating 
to  many  other  kindred  matters. 

In  1873  he  was  elected  a  state  senator  in  the  Minnesota 
legislature  and  served  two  years.  The  legislature  was  largely 
Republican,  and  elected  a  United  States  senator.  Mr.  Drake 
favored  Senator  Ramsey,  who  was  chosen  by  the  Republican 
caucus,  but  was  defeated  by  the  friends  of  Governor  Davis,  the 
election  resulting  in  the  selection  of  Judge  McMillan.  At  this 
time  the  granger  element  was  in  full  control,  and  immediately 
engaged  in  legislation  hostile  to  railroads.  A  law  regulating 
railroad  charges  (Laws,  1874,  Chapter  26),  radical  in  its  char- 
acter, was  passed  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote  of  the  Senate. 
The  only  negative  votes  were  cast  by  Mr.  Drake  and  Mr.  Ig- 
natius Donnelly,  the  former  voting  against  the  law  because 
in  his  judgment  it  was  too  radical,  and  the  latter  because  the 
law  was  not  radical  enough  to  suit  him.    Mr.  Drake  both  voted 


ELIAS  FRANKLIN  DRAKE.  651 

and  spoke  against  the  law,  predicting  that  if  it  passed  it  would 
prove  unwise  and  unsound  and  be  speedily  repealed.  His  pre- 
diction was  realized,  as  at  the  next  session  of  the  legislature 
the  law  was  repealed  (Laws,  1875,  Chapter  103),  by  almost  as 
unanimous  a  vote  as  passed  it. 

Because  of  his  position  as  a  railroad  man  and  his  open 
opposition  to  the  views  of  the  majority  upon  railroad  ques- 
tions, Mr.  Drake  appears  to  have  been  deprived  of  all  influence 
in  the  Senate,  at  the  commencement  of  his  term.  His  legisla- 
tive experience,  his  fairness  and  integrity,  his  keen  foresight 
and  ability,  however,  commanded  respect  and  support,  and 
when  he  finished  his  term  no  man  in  the  Senate  was  more 
influential.  As  in  Ohio,  so  in  Minnesota,  he  took  an  active 
part  in  all  legislation,  and  at  all  times  cast  his  vote  and  used 
his  influence  for  the  passage  of  those  laws  which  provide  for 
wise  and  honest  government. 

Mr.  Drake  was  instrumental  in  securing  to  the  State  of 
Minnesota  five  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land.  Governor 
Marshall  in  his  annual  message  to  the  legislature,  January 
10th,  1867,  thus  refers  to  the  matter:  "Hon.  E.  F.  Drake,  early 
last  year,  called  my  attention  to  the  fact  that  under  a  half 
forgotten  law  of  Congress  (thte  act  of  September  4th,  1841), 
public  lands  to  the-  amount  of  five  hundred  thousand  acres 
were  granted  to  certain  States  for  internal  improvements;  the 
act  provided  further,  that  new  States  thereafter  admitted 
should  receive  a  like  quantity  of  lands,  deducting  any  lands 
granted  to  such  states  for  internal  improvements  during  its 
territorial  period.  I  gave  Mr.  Drake  a  letter  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  requesting  facilities  for  investigating  the  mat- 
ter, Which  resulted  in  the  Secretary  conceding  the  right  of  the 
State  to  the  lands,  and  giving  a  letter  of  instructions  for  their 
selection.  I  commend  this  valuable  service  to  the  State,  of 
Mr.  Drake,  to  your  attention  for  such  acknowledgment  or  com- 
pensation as  shall  seem  to  you  appropriate." 

•These  lands  were  duly  selected,  and  the  fund  arising  from 
the  sale  became  the  basis  of  settlement  in  1881  of  the  sus- 
pended debt  of  the  State  under  the  Five  Million  loan  of  1858 
to  railroads.  It  is  probably  true  that  no  private  citizen  has 
ever  rendered  to  the  State  so  valuable  a  material  service  as 
Mr.  Drake  rendered  in  securing  these  lands. 


g52  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

The  late  Cyrus  Aldrich,  member  of  Congress  from  Minne- 
sota in  1861-62,  had  an  informal  talk  with,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  in  regard  to  the  right  of  the  State  to  these  lands,  but 
the  view  then  taken  was  that  the  grants  of  several  million 
acres  to  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  in  1857,  to  aid  in  the  con- 
struction of  railroads,  cancelled,  under  the  terms  of  the  act 
of  September  4th,  1841,  any  right  to  these  five  hundred  thou- 
sand acres.  The  matter  was  not  further  investigated  until 
Mr.  Drake  successfully  dealt  with  it. 

In  1875  a  discussion  arose  in  the  Minnesota  Senate  concern- 
ing the  disposition  of  these  lands,  which  led  to  an  extended 
debate  upon  the  repudiation  of  the  Railroad  Aid  bonds  of  1858. 
Mr.  Drake  took  strong  ground  in  favor  of  the  prompt  payment 
of  the  bonds,  and  delivered  an  able  speech  upon  the  question. 
At  that  time,  however,  the  legislature  would  not  take  steps 
to  remove  the  stain  upon  the  name  of  the  State;  and  it  was  not 
till  the  extra  session  of  1881  that  the  matter  wes  settled  and 
adjusted. 

Amictet  his  other  occupations  Mr.  Drake  found  time  to 
devote  to  the  militia  service.  While  residing  at  Lebanon,  Ohio, 
he  served  as  adjutant  of  a;  regiment,  and  became  chief  of  the 
colonel's  staff.  Subsequently,  at  Xenia,  he  was  colonel  of  a 
regiment,  and  served  on  the  general's  staff. 

Mr.  Drake  left  surviving  him  his  widow  and  five  children, 
all  of  whom  reside  in  St.  Paul.  The  eldest,  Sarah  Frances,  the 
only  child  by  his  first  wife,  as  already  stated,  married  Mr. 
Charles  S.  Rogers.  The  elder  son,  Henry  Trevor  Drake,  mar- 
ried in  1882  Miss  Emma  Bigelow,  daughter  of  Mr.  Charles  H. 
Bigelow,  and  is  engaged  in  business  in  St.  Paul.  Alexander 
McClurg  Drake,  the  younger  son,  is  also  engaged  in  business 
in  St.  Paul.  He  was  for  many  years  connected  with  his  father's 
affairs.  The  two-  remaining  children  are  daughters.  Mary, 
the  elder,  married  Mr.  Thomas  S.  Tompkins  in  1886;  and  Car- 
rie, the  youngest  of  the  family,  married  Mr.  William  H.  Light- 
ner  in  1885. 

From  this  summary  and  review  of  the  important  events  in 
Mr.  Drake's  life  the  reader  can  form  a  fair  estimate  of  his  char- 
acter. He  was  a  man  of  unusual  executive  ability.  He  not 
only  originated  large  enterprises,  but  he  had  the  ability  and 


ELIAS  FRANKLIN  DRAKE.  g5g 

industry  to  carry  them  to  a  successful  completion.  He  was 
nfot  disheartened  by  unforeseen  obstacles  and  discouragements, 
but,  with  a  never  failing  confidence  in  the  future,  he  tena- 
ciously adhered  to  his  course  and  ultimately  won  success.  His 
mind  was  remarkably  clear  and  logical,  and  his  judgment 
sound.  ]STo  man  was  more  often  applied  to  for  advice  by  his 
friends  and  neighbors;  and  many  citizens  of  St.  Paul  will  bear 
testimony  to  the  fact  tha+  his  advice,  freely  given,  was  judicious 
and  beneficial  to  those  seeking  it.  Trained  under  stern  relig- 
ious influences,  tinctured  with  the  Puritan  doctrines,  he  had 
however  a  broad  and  liberal  mind,  which  neither  favored  nor 
supported  fanaticism  or  bigotry.  Though  himself  not  a  church 
member,  he  actively  and  liberally  supported  the  Baptist 
Olhurch,  of  which  his  second  wife  and  their  children  were 
membens.  Like  all  positive  men,  he  had  strong  prejudices? 
founded  upon  his  honest  and  sincere  convictions.  Yet  he  never 
allowed  his  prejudices  to  influence  his  reason,  and  no  man  was 
more  open  to  conviction  when  in  error.  He  was  pre-eminently 
a  man  of  affairs,  and  during  his  long  life  there  were  found  no 
periods  of  idleness.  Of  a  most  sociable  character,  he  was  en- 
tirely free  from  personal  vices,  and  was  temperate  in  all  his 
habits. 

Mr.  Drake  was  a  very  domestic  man.  He  found  his  greatest 
happiness  in  his  family  circle,  where  perfect  harmony  pre- 
vailed, and  where  a  devoted  wife  and  loving  children  joined  in 
giving  to  him  what  he  most  prized,  a  happy  home. 

For  a  year  and  a  half  prior  to  his  death  he  was  in  failing 
health;  and  in  November,  1891,  with  his  wife  and  her 
sister,  Miss  McOlurg  (who  had  long  been  a  devoted  member  of 
his  family),  he  went  to  California  in  the  hope  that  the  change 
of  climate  might  prove  beneficial.  In  February  he  rapidly  lost 
strength,  and  died  peacefully  on  the  14th,  his  wife  and  her 
sister  being  at  his  bedside.  The  remains  were  brought  to  St. 
Paul  and  buried  in  the  family  lot  in  Oakland  cemetery.  The 
extent  of  the  loss  to  the  city,  and  the  shock  and  grief  in  the 
community  caused  by  his  death,  may  be  gathered  from  the 
extended  notices  in  the  press. 

William  H.  Ljghtner. 


HENKY  MOWER  RICE. 

Death  has  taken  from  our  membership  since  the  last  meet- 
ing* an  honored  associate,  one  of  the  most  illustrious  men  in 
the  history  of  Minnesota.  Henry  Mower  Rice  died!  at  San 
Antonio,  Texas,  where  he  was  sojourning  for  his  health,  Jan- 
uary 15th,  1894,  in  the  seventy-seventh  year  of  his  age. 

Mr.  Rice  was  named  in  the  act  of  October  20th,  1849, 
incorporating  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  and  he  was 
its  president  three  terms,  for  the  years  1864  to  1866.  He 
has  been  very  helpful  in  upbuilding  the  Society  during  all  its 
history. 

For  more  than  half  a  century  Mr.  Rice  had  been  identified 
in  active  business  enterprises,  and  in  the  most  important  public 
functions,  in  the  Northwest  and  the  Territory  and  State  of 
Minnesota.  He  was  the  delegate  of  the  Territory  in  Congress 
four  years,  1853  to  1857,  and  the  United  States  senator  from 
the  admission  of  the  state  in  1858  for  five  years.  He  was 
prominently  connected  with  the  most  important  treaties  with 
the  Indians  by  which  their  rights  to  the  lands  of  Minnesota 
were  extinguished.  In  Congress  he  secured  the  liberal  land 
grants  in  aid  of  our  magnificent  system  of  railroads,  by  which 
they  were  secured  almost  in  advance  of  settlements.  No  man 
in  our  history  did  more  to  lay  broad  the  foundations  of  the 
state.  His  name  will  be  cherished  in  all  time  as  that  of  a  bene- 
factor of  the  millions  who  are  to  possess  and  enjoy  this  fair 
land  as  their  heritage. 

A  man  of  remarkable  forecast  of  mind,  of  great  refinement 
and  courtliness  of  manners,  of  fine  bodily  presence,  he  was  a 
natural  leader  of  men;  yet  he  was  modest  and  retiring.  He 
sought  little  for  himself.  His  ambition  was  in  connection  with 
the  advancement  of  public  interests  and  the  prosperity  and 
welfare  of  his  fellow  men.    During  the  great  struggle  for  na- 


*This  obituary  sketch  was  read  at  the  monsthly  meeting  of  the  Executive 
Council,  February  12,  1894. 


tt-Zi/Z^t^ 


^C^^-/  ^>t 


t 


Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  XXI. 


i         HENRY  MOWER  RICE.  655 

tional  life  his  loyalty  to  the  Union,  and  his  labors  as  a  member 
of  the  military  and  other  important  committees  of  the  United 
States  government,  were  most  honorable  and  most  useful. 

The  Minnesota  Oommandery  of  the  Military  Order  of  the 
Loyal  Legion,  soon  after  its  organization,  November  4th,  1885, 
honored  itself  and  sought  to  honor  him  by  electing  him  one  of 
the  first  of  the  limited  number  who,  by  the  constitution  of  the 
Order,  may  be  members  from  civil  life.  In  the  language  of  the 
constitution  of  the  Order,  he  was  chosen  from  those  who  "in 
civil  life  during  the  Rebellion  were  especially  distinguished  for 
conspicuous  and  consistent  loyalty  to  the  national  government, 
and  who  were  active  and  eminent  in  maintaining  the  su- 
premacy of  the  same."  No  language  could  more  fittingly  char- 
acterize Mr.  Rice. 

Henry  Mower  Rice  was  born  in  Waitsfield,  Vermont,  No- 
vember 29th,  1817.  He  was  of  honorable  ancestry,  descended 
from  Edmund  Rice,  who  came  from  Bankhamstead,  Hertford- 
shire, England,  and  settled  in  Sudbury,  Mass.,  in  1638  or  1639. 
Through  a  maternal  ancestor  he  was  descended  from  the  family 
which  produced  Warren  Hastings.  His  father  died  when  he 
was  bult  twelve  years  of  age,  the  oldest  of  ten  children. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  came  west  to  Detroit,  Mich.,  with 
the  family  of  General  Justus  Rurdick,  a  friend  of  his  father, 
with  whom  young  Rice  had  made  his  home  after  his  father's 
death.  In  1836,  in  his  nineteenth  year,  he  was  engaged  in  the 
surveys  for  the  government  canal  at  SauTt  Ste.  Marie,  to  make 
navigable  the  entrance  to  lake  Superior.  The  following  year 
he  went  with  General  Burdick's  family  to  Kalamazoo,  Mich., 
where  he  was  engaged  in  trade  in  that  new  settlement  for  two 
years.  In  1839  his  adventurous  spirit  led  him  to  go  farther 
west.  Two  hundred  miles  of  the  journey  through  the  wilder- 
ness he  made  on  foot,  suffering  much  hardship.  In  his  travels 
he  reached  St.  Louis,  where  Kenneth  McKenzie,  connected 
with  Indian  trade  and  the  sutler's  store  at  Fort  Snelling,  en- 
gaged him  to  take  care  of  McKenzie's  business  there.  Mr. 
Rice  wrote  to  his  boyhood  friend,  Roswell  P.  Russell,  then  at 
Kalamazoo,  to  join  him.  After  a  journey  of  much  hardship, 
having  their  Mackinaw  boat  frozen  in  at  La  Crosse,  they 
reached  Fort  Snelling  November  5th,  1839. 


£56  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Mr.  Rice  left  Fort  Snelling  in  May,  1840,  with  the  United 
States  troops  ordered  to  the  new  Winnebago  Reservation  in 
northern  Iowa  to  establish  Fort  Atkinson.  He  was  appointed 
sutler  of  the  post.  This  position  he  relinquished  in  1842  to  en- 
gage in  the  Indian  trade.  In  this  trade  he  was  connected  with 
Colonel  Hercules  L.  Dousman  of  Prairie  du  Chien.  Later  he 
was  a  partner  of  B.  W.  Brisbois  in  a  trader's  outfitting  store 
at  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  in  1847  he  was  made  a  partner  of  P. 
Chouteau,  Jr.,  &  Co.,  the  great  fur  traders. 

The  white  settlements  of  Iowa  in  1846  began  to  demand  the 
removal  of  the  Winnebago  Indians.  Mr.  Rice,  with  a  delega- 
tion of  chiefs,  went  to  Washington  and  concluded  a  treaty  for 
the  sale  of  the  reservation,  he  signing  the  treaty  in  place  of  a 
chief,  a  distinguished  mark  of  the  confidence  of  the  Indians. 

In  1847,  as  United  States  commissioner,  he  negotiated  trea- 
ties with  the  Chippewas  of  the  upper  Mississippi  and  of  lake 
Superior  for  cessions  of  their  lands.  He  took  up  his  residence 
at  Mendota  in  1847.  In  1848  he  was  engaged  in  removing  the 
Winnebago  Indians  from  Iowa  to  their  new  reservation  above 
Sauk  Rapids  on  the  Mississippi  and  Long  Prairie  rivers. 

March  29th,  1849,  he  married  Matilda  Whitall  of  Richmond, 
Va.,  after  which  he  made  his  home  at  St.  Paul,  Minn.  He  en- 
gaged extensively  in  trade  with  the  Ojibway  and  Winnebago 
Indians  from  1847  to  1852. 

In  1852,  when  the  confirmation  of  the  treaties  of  1851  with 
the  Sioux  for  their  vast  possessions  in  Minnesota  was  in  dan- 
ger of  failing,  his  assistance  was  sought  in  securing  the  consent 
of  the  Indians  to  modifications  of  the  treaties  required  by  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States;  and,  although  he  had  never 
been  connected  with  these  Indians  in  trade  or  otherwise,  and 
was  not  a  beneficiary  under  the  treaty  as  were  others  to  the 
extent  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars,  his  great  tact  and 
ability  speedily  secured  the  consent  of  the  Sioux  to  the  Senate 
amendments.  Thus,  in  the  fall  of  1852,  all  of  Minnesota  west 
of  the  Mississippi  river  and  south  of  the  Ojibway  country  was 
opened  to  white  settlement. 

Cn  1853  Mr.  Rice  was  chosen  delegate  in  Congress,  and  he 
was  re-elected  in  1855.  With  great  efficiency  he  secured  land 
grants  in  aid  of  our  great  system  of  railroads,  and  got  land 


HENRY  MOWER   RICE.  657 

offices  established  conveniently  for  settlers  in  greater  numbers 
than  had  evier  before  been  allowed  in  new  and  sparsely  settled 
countries.  He  got  the  pre-empttion  laws  extended  to  unsur- 
veyed  lands.  He  procured  the  enabling  act  of  1857,  under 
which  the  Territory  became  a  State,  in  which  was  confirmed 
to  the  State  two  sections  of  lund  in  every  township,  and  also 
two  townships  of  land  for  a  State  University.  He  took  his 
seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  on  admission  of  the  State  in 
1858,  for  a  term  ending  March  3rd,  1863. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  W'ar  he  severed  his  rela- 
tions, which  had  been  intimate,  with  Breckenridge,  Clay, 
Toombs,  and  others  of  the  South,  and  loyally  and  ably  sus- 
tained the  national  cause. 

As  a  member  of  the  military,  finance,  and  other  important 
committees  of  the  Senate,  his  business  experience  and  ability 
were  of  the  highest  value  to  the  Union  cause.  Henry  Wilson, 
chairman  of  the  military  committee,  said  that  to  Mr.  Eice  more 
than  any  other  member  was  due  the  credit  of  those  practical 
measures  for  providing  clothing,  subsistence,  and  camp  equip- 
age, and  for  mobilizing  our  great  armies. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  Senate,  by  published  letters 
in  1863-64  of  marked  ability  smd  the  most  fervid  patriotism,  he 
upheld  the  national  cause  until  its  triumphant  success. 

In  1865  he  was  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  governor, 
but  the  large  ascendancy  of  the  opposite  party  precluded  suc- 
cess. He  avowed  at  the  time  that  he  accepted  the  nomina- 
tion as  a  representative  of  the  unhesitating  Union  sentiments 
of  his  party,  and  to  prevent  the  ascendancy  of  the  reactionary 
element. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that,  although  his  sentiments  were  in 
full  accord  with  the  great  party  in  control  of  the  state  and 
nation.)  from  the  clash  of  arms  in  1861  onward  and  if  he  had 
openly  allied  himself  with  that  party,  as  did  Matt.  Carpenter, 
Daniel  S.  Dickinson  and  others,  he  would  have  been  honored 
with  high  pla/ees  of  trust  and  emoluments,  he  chose  to  forego 
all  such  advantages  and  to  remain,  as  he  had  been  from  the 
beginning  of  his  public  career,  associated  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  It  is  a  striking  example  of  his  disinterestednesB 
and  freedom  from  self-seeking  that  he  preferred  to  remain 
42 


(558  MINNESOTA  HISTORICiAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

with  the  minority,  and  to  exert  his  influence  to  promote  in 
that  party  cordial  support  of  those  in  authority  in  a  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war,  and  for  a  sound  financial  policy  after 
the  war  in  honorable  fulfillment  of  national  obligations. 

In  1887  and  1888  he  was  a  United  States  commissioner  to 
make  settlement  with  the  Ojibway  Indians  in  matters  between 
them  and  the  government,  rendering  most  valuable  service. 

He  was  chosen  treasurer  of  Ramsey  county  at  a  time  which 
called  for  the  services  of  a  faithful,  fearless  officer.  He  dis- 
charged the  duties  several  terms  with  the  utmost  fidelity. 

He  was  repeatedly  chosen  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce of  St.  Paul,  and  was  in  all  ways  devoted  to  the  public 
interests  of  the  city  which  was  so  long  his  home. 

His  last  public  service  was  within  two  or  three  months  of 
the  close  of  his  life,  when  he  acted  in  conjunction  with  Gover- 
nor Ramsey  and  H.  S.  Fairchild  in  fixing  values  of  the  land 
taken  by  the  State  for  a  new  capltol  building. 

Thus  has  closed,  in  the  fullness  of  years  and  honors,  the 
life  of  one  who  will  have  a  foremost  place  in  the  records  of 
our  history,  and  in  the  hearts  and  memories  of  those  who  knew 
him  in  life,  as  one  of  the  founders  and  benefactors  of  ouu 

State. 

William  R.  Marshall. 


(^^Aj  &.A{* 


sz-ya 


Minnesota  Histoeical  Society, 
Vol.  IX.    Plate  XXII. 


CHARLES  EDWIN  MAYO. 

"Cape  Cod,  the  bared  and  bended  arm  of  Massachusetts, 
behind  which  the  State  stands  on  her  guard,  with  her  back 
to  the  Green  mountains,  and  her  feet  planted  on  the  floor  of 
the  ocean,  boxing  with  northeast  storms/'  has  been  the  home 
for  many  generations  of  sturdy,  brave,  and  fearless  men. 
Inured  to  hardships,  coming  to  these  shores  for  conscience' 
sake,  the  New  Englander  has  stood  for  what  is  best  in  our 
newer  civilization. 

It  has  been  said  of  Brewster  township,  on  Cape  Cod,  that 
the  tide  ebbs  out  a  greater  distance  than  at  any  other  place  in 
the  world,  and  that  it  has  been  the  home  of  more  sea  captains 
than  any  other  town,  considering  the  number  of  its  population. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Charles  Edwin  Mayo,  was  born 
at  Brewster,  Massachusetts,  October  26th,  1827,  the  son  of 
Jeremiah  Mayo  and  Mary  Paddock  Clark  Mayo,  His  was  an 
ancestry  of  which  to  be  proud,  and  from  which  he  inherited 
many  strong  traits.  He  was  lineally  descended  from  nine  of 
the  passengers  of  the  Mayflower.  These  were  Elder  William 
Brewster,  for  whom  lhis  native  town  was  named,  with  his  wife 
Mary;  Alice  and  William  Mullens,  with  their  daughter  Pris- 
cilla;  John  Alden,  Thomas  Rogers,  and  Stephen  and  Giles  Hop- 
kins. 

His  colonial  ancestry  contained  thirty-eight  names,  in- 
cluding men  who  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  affairs  of 
state,  members  of  the  General  Court,  governor  and  governor's 
assistants,  captains  of  companies  in  King  Philip's  war  and 
the  Pequot  war,  and  of  Miles  Standish's  company. 

One  of  these  worthies,  Governor  Thomas  Prence,  was  gov- 
ernor  of  the  colony  for  twenty  years.  Bishop  Samuel  Sea- 
bury,  the  first  bishop  of  the  English  church  in  this  country, 
was  one  of  his  ancestors,  who  had  a  great  and  moulding  influ- 
ence on  church  and  state. 


660  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL,  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Mr.  Mayo's  father,  Jeremiah  Mayo,  was  a  sea  captain,  sail- 
ing from  Boston  to  foreign  ports.  He  visited  the  battlefield 
of  Corunna  a  few  days  after  the  battle  beween  the  French  and 
English,  and  saw  the  prisoners  that  were  taken  in  the  fight, 
a  miserable,  wretched  looking  lot.  He  was  familiar  with  the 
details  of  the  battle,  and  woiuld  grow  eloquent  as  he  spoke 
of  the  heroism  of  Sir  John  Moore.  Among  his  son's  autographs, 
that  of  Sir  John  Moore  was  greatly  prized,  probably  because 
of  his  early  admiration  for  this  hero. 

In  1815  Captain  Jeremiah  Mayo  visited  Havre  just  after  the 
battle  of  Waterloo,  and,  on  being  approached  by  the  emissaries 
of  Napoleon  in  regard  to  bringing  him  to  this  country,  he 
agreed  to  do  so,  knowing  that,  if  caught,  his  vessel  and  cargo 
would  be  confiscated.  He  heard  before  sailing,  however,  that 
Napoleon  had  surrendered  himself  to  the  English.  Many  voy- 
ages were  made  to  Russian  and  European  ports. 

In  the  home  at  Brewster  there  were  hung  on  the  walls  a 
map  of  the  United  States  and  a  facsimile  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  as  means  of  furnishing  food  for)  thought 
for  the  young  children  of  the  family. 

Many  nights  when  a  boy,  Charles  would  copy  the  signa- 
tures on  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  after  a  few 
trials  became  quite  expert  in  the  imitation  of  any  of  them. 

In  1835  the  Brewster  Academy  was  opened,  and  Charles 
Edwin  Mayo  began  his  school  training.  Among  the  text  books 
then  in  use  was  Goodrich's  History  of  the  United  States,  with 
Emerson's  Questions.  The  class  in  grammar  used  Pope's  Essay 
on  Man.  Other  studies  were  natural  philosophy,  chemistry, 
rhetoric,  botany,  algebra,,  and  logic.  Much  attention  was  paid 
to  composition  and  declamation.  In  the  fall  of  1837  Mr.  Ben- 
jamin Drew,  of  Plymouth,  superseded  Mr.  Washburn,  the  pre- 
vious teacher.  On  opening  his  school  Mr.  Drew  wrote  upon 
the  blackboard,  "Order  is  Heaven's  first  Law/'  and  to  this 
motto  he  strictly  adhered,  as  did  also  his  pupil,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  through  life.  During  the  many  expeditions 
made  with  his  teacher,  Mr.  Drew,  his  taste  was  formed  for  the 
best  in  literature,  which  he  always  retained.  It  was  this  habit, 
then  formed,  which  was  more  fully  gratified  when  he  removed 


CHARLES  EDWIN  MAYO.  661 

to  Boston,  where  he  was  able  to  obtain  books  and  information, 
whieh  could  not  be  obtained  in  his  native  town. 

In  1842  he  was  sent  to  school  at  Bandwich,  Mass.,  and 
there  his  teacher,  Mr.  Crowell,  wrote  to  his  father:    "I  wish  to 

write  a  word  regarding  your  son I  love  your  son, 

and  I  wish  him  to  be  educated.  My  great  reason  is,  because 
it  seems  to  me  he  should  be;  he  has  the  mind,  the  habits,  the 

qualities,  that  ought  to  be  cultivated I  must  say 

I  can  almost  envy  his  talents  in  view  of  his  age."  His  should 
have  been  a  professional  life.  Charles  was  a  member  of  the 
First  Parish  church  of  Brewster,  then  Congregational,  and 
his  father  was  an  active  man  in  its  affairs. 

In  1844  Charles  left  for  Boston,  to  enter  the  hardware 
store  of  Montgomery  Newell.  During  this  first  year  in  Boston 
he  joined  the  Mercantile  Library,  and  attended  regularly  the 
Lyceum  lectures;  his  evenings!  were  spent  in  reading  and  study. 
It  was  always  his  desire  to  see  and  hear  the  best,  and  he 
never  lost  an  opportunity  of  hearing  men  of  note,  who  were 
so  numerous  at  that  time.  During  his  stay  in  Boston  he  heard 
such  men  as  Sumner,  Ohoate,  Webster,  Phillips-,  Holmes,  Car- 
rison,  Pierpont,  Parker,  Burlingame,  Frederick  Douglass,  and 
also  Jennie  Lind,  and  all  the  noted  actors  and  actresses  of 
the  day.  Here  he  also  heard  Louis  Kossuth,  whom  Whittier 
styled 

....    "the  noblest  guest 
The  Old  World's  wrong  has  given  the  New  World  of  the  West." 

In  no  other  city  of  our  country  is  so  much  interest  felt  in 
the  preservation  of  historical  memories,  and  so  much  effort 
expended  to  snatch  from  oblivion  the  buildings  and  sites  of 
earlier  days.  Mr.  Mayo,  surrounded  in  these  formative  days 
with  the  love  of  the  past,  early  showed  his  attachment  for  the 
places  and  persons  that  Ihad  helped,  to  found  the  strofng, 
stable  national  government  of  which  we  are  all  justly  proud. 
It  was  during  his  stay  of  seven  years  in  Boston  that  he  became 
associated  with  his  cousin,  Charles  Mayo,  in  accumulating 
historical  and  genealogical  notes  of  the  Mayo  family;  and  in 
that  work  his  natural  love  of  old  documents  and  newspapers 
was  fostered,  so  that  his  friends*,  knowing  this,  made  him  the 


662  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

recipient  of  many  papers  of  value,  all  of  which  were  his  most 
loved  and  prized  possessions. 

Deciding  that  a  drier  climate  might  be  more  beneficial  to 
his  health,  he  moved  to  Cincinnati  in  September,  1852,  where 
he  remained  during  the  winter;  and  in  the  spring  of  1853  he 
made  a  visit,  by  boat,  to  New  Orleans,  spending  a  month  on 
the  trip.  Upon  his  return  he  stopped  for  a  few  days  in  Cin- 
cinnati, and  then  embarked  for  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  on  the 
steamboat  "Nominee,"  of  which  Russell  Blakeley  was  captain-j 
arriving  here  May  27th,  1853.  Here  he  lived  to  see  the  change 
from  a  frontier  western  town  to  the  present  city.  Soon  after 
coming  to  St.  Paul  Mr.  Mayo  engaged  in  the  hardware  busi- 
ness, entering  the  store  of  Francis  S.  Newell,  but  spending  a 
portion  of  the  first  summer  here  in  assisting  Mr.  Halsted  in 
surveying  Wiarren  and  Winslow's  addition.  His  tall  stature, 
six  feet  four  inches,  served  him  well  as  a  surveyor,  Mr.  Halsted 
saying  that  he  was  the  best  chainman  he  had  ever  employed. 
In  the  fall  he  entered  business  for  himself  with  Mr.  Elkanah 
Bangs  and  Mr.  F.  S.  Newell,  under  the  firm  name  of  Charles 
E.  Mayo  &  Company. 

The  following  anecdote  will  illustrate  his  kindly  nature. 
In  the  summer  of  1854  he  was  called  to  a  frame  house  in  the 
rear  of  his  store,  by  the  wife  of  a  sick  man,  who  wanted  his 
help.  He  went  and  found  the  man  sick  with  cholera,  without 
proper  bed,  furniture,  medicine,  or  care,  which  he  at  once 
proceeded  to  give,  carrying  over  to  the  house  furniture  and  a 
mattress  from  his  own  room,  calling  a  doctor,  and  remaining 
with  them  until  the  man's  recovery  was  assured. 

His  mother,  writing  him  soon  after  this  act  of  charity,  said : 
"A  charitable  deed  done  to  a  fellow  creature,  a  stranger,  sick 
with  cholera,  though  nothing  more  than  was  your  duty  to  do, 
gave  me  more  heartfelt  satisfaction  than  mines  of  gold  would 
have  done." 

His  lister,  having  come  west  to  make  a  visit,  wrote: 
"Charles  and  I  started  from  St.  Paul  January  22nd,  1856,  for 
Boston.  We  rode  in  a  covered  sleigh  four  days,  and  one  night 
in  a  stage  coach,  before  we  reached  Dubuque."  What  a  differ- 
ence betweeen  the  time  it  then  took  to  travel  and  that  of 
today! 


CHARLES  EDWIN  MAYO.  663 

Almost  immediately  after  coming  to  St.  Paul  he  became 
associated  with  those  whose  interests,  intellectually,  were 
identical  with  his  own,  and  in  November,  1855,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  of  which  society 
he  remained  an  active  member  until  his  death.  He  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Executive  Council  of  this  society  in 
February,  1864,  and  continued  in  the  Council  through  his  life. 
He  was  secretary  of  the  society  from  February  19th,  1864,  to 
January  21st,  1867,, being  succeeded  by  J.  Fletcher  Williams; 
was  president  for  the  year  1872;  and  from  1891  to  his  death 
was  second  vice  president. 

His  research  in  history  and  genealogy  was  very  deep,  and 
his  broad  mind  and  retentive  memory  enabled  him  to  master 
any  subject  to  which  he  turned  his  attention.  He  was  applied 
to  for  genealogical  information  by  people  from  all  parts  of  the 
country. 

The  Mayflower  Society,  the  Cape  Cod  Historical  Society, 
to  which  he  was  elected  in  1882,  the  Pilgrim  Society  of  Ply- 
mouth, which,  as  their  certificate  of  membership  states,  was 
organized  December  21st,  1820,  "in  grateful  remembrance  of 
the  first  settlers  of  New  England,  who  came  here  December 
21st,  1620,"  all  claimed  him  as  a  member.  It  was  under  the 
auspices  of  the  last  named  society  that  the  Ifaith  Monument 
at  Plymouth  was  erected,  to  commemorate  the  landing  of  the 
Pilgrims. 

Mr.  Mayo  became  a  member  of,  and  Genealogist  for,  the 
Society  of  Colonial  Wars  in  Minnesota.  During  one  of  his 
many  visits  to  his  native  town,  in  1895,  he  copied,  with  the 
help  of  others  the  inscriptions  on  the  tombstones  in  the  old 
burial  ground,  which  were  rapidly  becoming  obliterated.  These 
he  published  three  years  afterward,  with  copious  notes,  in 
a  pamphlet  of  83  pages,  entitled  "Mortuary  Eecord  from  the 
Gravestones  in  the  Old  Burial  Ground  in  Brewster,  Mass." 

For  some  years  Mr.  Mayo  was  a  member  of  the  St.  Paul 
Library  Board,  and  served  one  year  as  its  president.  It  was 
while  on  this  board  that  he  became  interested  in  securing  a 
course  of  entertainments  for  the  benefit  of  the  Library.  Noted 
speakers  and  authors  were  induced  to  come  to  St.  Paul  and 


f>64  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

regale  their  audiences  with  the  pleasure  their  readings  gave 
for  an  evening.  Mary  Scott  Siddons,  John  B.  Cough,  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  Horace  Greeley,  Camilla  Urso,  and  many  others, 
were  among  the  number. 

Mr.  Mayo  was  married  in  St.  Paul,  May  7th,  1861,  to  Caro- 
line E.  Fitch,  who  survived  him  but  eight  months.  Two  daugh- 
ters and  one  son  are  left  to  mourn  their  loss. 

Just  after  his  marriage  and  during  the  Civil  War,  he  and 
his  wife  were  deeply  interested  in  the  work  of  the  Sanitary 
Commission,  and  in  providing  for  the  soldiers'  families  that 
were  left  at  home  without  means  of  subsistence.  After  his 
marriage  he  was  a  regular  attendant  at  Christ  Episcopal 
Church. 

He  was  associated  in  business,  at  different  times,  with 
Mr.  J.  P.  Pond,  Mr.  H.  M.  Smyth,  and  Mr.  Charles  H.  Clark. 

In  July,  1889,  he  was  appointed  United  'States  Appraiser 
for  this  district,  under  the  Collector  of  Intemai  Reventfe, 
Colonel  Charles  G.  Edwards,  and  served  in  that  capacity  until 
his  death  ten  years  later.  His  judgment  in  matters  pertaining 
to  his  duties  was  seldom  questioned,  and  in  such  cases  as  were 
appealed  his  decisions  wrere  almost  always  sustained. 

His  cheerful  disposition  was  a  constant  source  of  happiness 
to  his  friends  and  family.  His  rugged  frame  and  mind  accepted 
the  heritage  of  his  sturdy  ancestors,  and  his  whole  life  was 
given  to  living  up  to  the  high  standard  set  by  them.  How  well 
he  succeeded  the  members  of  the  Historical  Society  know. 
That  he  was  ever  willing  to  assist  in  any  way  the  young  men 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  many  now  living  can  attest. 

In  his  death,  April  23rd,  1899,  his  family  lost  a  kind  hus- 
band and  indulgent  father;  the  city,  an  upright,  moral  and 
broad-minded  citizen;  and  the  Historical  Society  a  genial,  capa- 
ble, and  valued  friend. 

Edwabd  C.  Doug  an. 


RUSSELL  BLAKELEY. 

The  last  pages  of  this  volume,  excepting  its  index,  were 
in  type,  when  death  removed  another  Jn  the  series  of  presi- 
dents of  this  society,  one  of  its  early  and  most  valued  mem- 
bers. 'Captain  Blakeley  had  been  well  known,  trusted,  hon- 
ored, and  beloved  by  the  people  of  Minnesota  during  more  than 
half  a  century.  Before  Minnesota  acquired  its  name  and  or- 
ganization as  a  territory,  he  began  his  important  service  in 
the  steamboat  navigation  of  the  Uf>per  Mississippi;  and  dur- 
ing the  fifteen  years  of  his  connection  with  the  Galena  and 
Minnesota  Packet  Company  he  brought  here  many  thousands 
of  the  pioneers  and  founders  of  our  commonwealth.  In  addi- 
tion to  large  business  activity,  he  had  always  a  lively  interest 
in  promoting  the  intellectual  and  moral  welfare  of  his  city 
and  state. 

Within  the  latest  five  years  of  his  life,  when  the  care  of 
business  had  been  chiefly  laid  aside,  Captain  Blakeley  wrote, 
in  accordance  with  earnest  solicitations  by  his  associates  in 
this  society,  two  extended  articles  for  its  eighth  volume  of 
Historical  Collections,  giving  his  reminiscences  of  the  old  days 
of  steamboat  travel  and  freighting  on  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Red  river  of  the  North.  His  portrait  is  presented  in, that  vol- 
ume as  the  frontispiece  of  his  paper,  "History  of  the  Discov- 
ery of  the  Mississippi  River  and  the  Advent  of  Commerce  in 
Minnesota";  and  the  same  article  includes  photogravures  of 
eleven  steamboats  which  plied  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  bring- 
ing immigrants  to  this  state,  before  the  close  of  the  civil  war. 
After  that  time,  immigration  came  mostly  by  railways  and 
wagon  roads. 

Russell  Blakeley  was  born  in  North  Adams,  Mass.,  April 
19th,  1815,  being  the  son  of  Dennis  Blakeley  and  Sarah  Sam- 
son Blakeley.    On  the  paternal  side  he  was  a  descendant  from 


666  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Samuel  Blachley,  who  was  a  pioneer  of  Guilford,  Conn.,  in 
1650,  removing  thence  about  the  year  1653  to  New  Haven. 
Another  writer  has;  directed  attention  to  qualities  which  he 
received  by  inheritance,  being  "on  both  sidea  of  Puritan  an- 
cestry and  descended  from  two  of  the  oldest  families  of 
Plymouth,  Mass.,  and  New  Haven,  Conn.  His  remote  ances- 
tors were  somewhat  prominent  in  the  early  affairs  of  the  New 
England  colonies.  Later  some  of  them  took  part  in  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  and  when  the  War  of  the  Revolution 
came  it  would  seem  that  nearly  all  of  the  able-bodied  male 
members  of  both  the  Blakeley  and  the  Samson  families  fought 
for  liberty  and  independence." 

In  1817  Dennis  Blakeley  removed  with  his  family  to  Leroy, 
Genesee  county,  N.  Y.,  where  Russell  received  a  common 
school  education  and  grew  to  manhood.  For  three  or  four 
years,  from  1832  to  1835,  he  was  employed  as  a  merchant's 
clerk  in  Batavia  and  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  in  the  autumn  of  1836,  he 
removed  with  his  father  to  Peoria,  Illinois,  and  remained  there 
nearly  three  years.  In  the  summer  of  1839  he  removed  to 
Galena,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  mining  and  smelting  lead,  in 
the  employ  of  Capt.  H.  H.  Gear,  during  the  next  five  years. 
He  then  went  to  Austinville,  Wythe  county,  Virginia,  and  was 
there  engaged  in  lead  smelting  until  the  early  summer  of  1847, 
when  he  returned  to  Galena. 

June  8th,  1847,  Russell  Blakeley  began  his  experience  in 
steamboating  as  clerk  of  the  steamer  Argo,  under  Capt  M. 
W.  Lodwick,  making  regular  trips  from  Galena  to  St.  Paul 
and  Fort  Snelling.  After  the  loss  of  his  steamer  the  next 
autumn,  a  partnership  was  formed  in  the ..  following  winter, 
including  Messrs.  Campbell,  Smith,  and  Henry  Corwith,  of 
Galena;  Col.  H.  L.  Dousman,  Brisbois,  and  Rice,  of  Prairie 
du  Chien;  H.  H.  Sibley,  of  Mendota;  Capt.  M.  W.  Lodwick, 
and  Mr.  Blakeley.  They  bought  the  steamer  Dr.  Franklin, 
and  began  in  the  spring  of  1848  the  regular  carrying  trade  of 
the  Galena  and  Minnesota  Packet  Company,  under  M.  W.  Lod- 
wick as  captain  and  Russell  Blakeley  as  clerk.  In  1851  the 
latter  succeeded  Captain  Lodwick  as  master  of  the  Dr.  Frank- 
lin. In  1853  Captain  Blakeley  was  transferred  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Nominee,  and  m  1854  to  the  Galena.    Wflien  the 


RUSSELL  BLAKELEY.  QQ? 

Illinois  Central  railroad  was  completed  to  the  Mississippi  river 
at  Dunleith  (now  East  Dubuque),  111.,  in  1855,  he  was  ap- 
pointed agent  and  traffic  manager  at  Dunleith  for  the  packet 
company.  His  connection  with  this  company  continued  until 
1862,  when/  its  business  was  sold  out. 

December  9th,  1851,  Captains  Blakeley  was  married  to  Ellen 
L.  Sheldon,  daughter  of  Major  John  Pitts  Sheldon  of  Willow 
Springs,  Lafayette  county,  Wisconsin.  'She  was  born  in  De- 
troit, Michigan,  October  2.6th,  1831,  and  died  at  Thomasville, 
Georgia,  March  28th,  1892.  During  the  first  ten  years  after 
marriage,  their  home  was  in  Galena,  excepting  the  summer 
of  1856,  when  it  was  in  St.  Paul.  They  removed  to  this  city 
in  1862,  and  two  years  later  Captain  Blakeley  built  the  fine 
stone  residence  at  the  corner  of  Jackson  and  Tenth  streets, 
which  was  ever  afterward  his  home. 

During  the  winter  of  1855-6,  he  became  a  partner  with 
J.  C.  Burbank  of  St.  Paul  in  express  and  commission  busi- 
ness. In  1858  this  firm,  J.  O.  Burbank  and  Co.,  contracted 
with  the  United  States  government  to  carry  the  winter  mail 
between  Prairie  du  Chien  and  St.  Paul;  and  in  the  spring 
of  1859  they  succeeded  to  all  the  mail  service  of  Allen  and 
Chase,  having  adopted  a  corporate  name  as  the  Minnesota 
Stage  and  Northwestern  Express  Company.  In  1862  they 
admitted  John  L.  Merriam  as  a  third  partner.  Five  years 
afterward,  when  the  building  of  railroads  had  considerably  di- 
minished their  business,  Messrs.  Burbank  and  Merriam  with- 
drew from  the  staging  and  expressing,  which  then  came  under 
the  management  of  Captain  Blakeley  and  C.  W.  Carpenter,  the 
latter  having  previously  been  the  confidential  clerk  of  the 
company.  By  them  a  stage  line  was  extended  to  Port  Garry, 
Manitoba,  in  1870.  They  continued  in  business  in  Minnesota 
until  1878,  when  the  railroads  had  virtually  superseded  all  the 
former  main  stage  routes  in  this  state. 

In  1877  this  company  was  reorganized  under  the  corporate 
title  of  the  Northwestern  Express,  Stage  and  Transportation 
Company,  in  which  N.  P.  Clark  and  Peter  Sims  became  in- 
terested, with  Gaptain  Blakeley  as  president  and  C.  W.  Car- 
penter as  secretary  and  treasurer.  They  entered  into  con- 
tract with  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  company  to  run  a 
stage  line  and  transport  freight  from  Bismarck,  Dakota,  on 


668  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

that  railroad,  to  Deadwood  in  the  mining  district  of  the  Black 
Hills,  a  distance  of  250  miles  through  the  Sioux  Reservation. 
By  this  route  they  carried  the  mails,  express,  passengers,  and 
freight  brought  by  this  railroad  for  the  Black  Hills,  until  1881, 
when  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  railway  company  com- 
pleted its  line  to  Pierre  on  the  Missouri  river. 

For  the  next  four  years  this  company,  under  the  direction 
of  Captain  Blakeley  and  Mr.  Carpenter,  who  had  purchased 
the  interests  of  the  other  stockholders,  carried  mail,  passen- 
gers, freight,  etc.,  between  Pierre  and  the  Black  Hills,  own- 
ing for  this  purpose  300  horses,  500  mules,  and  1,000  work 
oxen,  besides  also  hiring  for  the  freighting  business  at  times 
nearly  as  many  more. 

Another  transfer  of  location  of  this  business  was  made  in 
1886  to  the  terminus  of  the  Fremont,  Elkhorn  and  Missouri 
Valley  railroad,  a  part  of  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  sys- 
tem, on  its  extensions  to  western  Nebraska  and  northerly  by 
a  branch  to  the  Black  Hills.  With  the  completion  of  this 
branch  railroad,  in  1891,  the  last  opportunity  for  employment 
of  such  methods  of  transportation  of  this  magnitude  closed. 
The  stock  and  vehicles  that  had  been  used  were  therefore 
gradually  disposed  of  and  the  business  terminated,  the  oxen 
being  grazed  for  a  year  on  the  ranges  west  of  Pierre  and  sold 
as  beef  on  the  Chicago  market.  At  this  time  of  retirement 
from  active  business,  Captain  Blakeley  had  attained  the  age 
of  seventy-six  years. 

During  the  last  ten  years  of  this  transportation  company's 
operations,  they  carried  as  express  matter,  under  strong  guard 
of  messengers,  practically  all  of  the  gold  and  silver  product 
of  the  Black  Hills  district,  the  values  at  times  reaching  $300,- 
000  for  a  single  trip. 

Other  financial  enterprises  in  which  Captain  Blakeley  had 
interests  included  the  First  National  Bank  of  St.  Paul,  being 
one  of  its  original  stockholders;  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City 
railroad,  of  which  he  was  also  an  original  stockholder,  and 
was  a  director  from  1866  to  1880;  the  St.  Paul,  Stillwater  and 
Taylor's  Falls  railroad,  being  a  charter  member  and  the  first 
president  of  the  company  organized  for  its  construction;  the 
St.  Paul  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  Company,  in  which  he  was 


RUSSELL,  BTiAKELEY. 


669 


a  director  during  more  than  thirty  years;  and  the  Rock  County 
Farming  Company,  in  which  he  was  a  large  stockholder  and 
president,  joining  with  Mr.  Horace  Thompson  in  the  purchase 
of  22,000  acres  of  land.  This  last  venture  entailed  consider- 
able loss,  following  the  death  of  Mr.  Thompson,  its  business 
manager. 

Captain  Blakeley  aided  in  organizing  the  St.  Paul  Library 
Association,  and  was  its  first  president.  He  was  active  in 
founding  the  St.  Paul  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  its  board  of  directors  during  twenty-one  years,  being 
its  president  for  the  last  two  years,  and  being  recognized  at 
the  time  of  his  retirement  as  the  father  of  that  organization. 
He  was  president  of  the  St.  Paul  Bethel  Association,  of  the 
Oakland  Cemetery  Association,  and  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Asso- 
ciation of  Minnesota. 

He  became  a  member  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society 
in  1864,  and  was  a  member  of  its  council  continuously  from 
that  date  until  his  death.  He  was  president  of  this  society 
in  1871,  and  was  a  vice  president  continuously  since  1876.  No 
other  member  was  more  devoted  to  its  interests,  and  during 
his  last  years  he  greatly  enjoyed  reading  in  its  Library  and 
there  meeting  old  friends  whom  he  had  brought  as  pioneers 
in  the  early  years*  of  Minnesota. 

Fletcher  Williams,  in  his  History  of  St.  Paul,  published  in 
1876,  remarked:  "If  Captain  Blakeley  would  write  a  faithful 
account  of  steamboating  in  those  days,  with  his  personal  rem- 
iniscences of  men  and  events,  it  would  make  an  interesting 
chapter  of  our  pioneer  history. »  This  was  done,  as  already 
mentioned,  in  the  years  1896  to  1898,  when  two  valuable  his- 
torical papers  were  prepared  by  Captain  Blakeley  for  this 
society.  In  his  studies  for  the  second  paper,  relating  to  the 
Upper  Mississippi,  he  carefully  reviewed  the  records  of  the 
earliest  explorations  of  this  region,  beginning  with  Groseilliers 
and  Radisson  in  the  years  1654  to  1660. 

Politically,  Captain  Blakeley  enthusiastically  supported  the 
principles  of  the  Whig  party  until  1856,  then  becoming  a  Re- 
publican. He  voted  in  the  presidential  campaign  of  that  year 
for  Fremont,  and  four  years  later  for  Lincoln.  He  was  re- 
peatedly chairman  of  the  State  Central  Committee,  and  of  the 
Eamsey  County  Committee  for  the  Republican  party. 


670  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL.  SOCIETY  COLKETCTIONS. 

Religiously,  he  firmly  believed  in  universal  salvation.  He 
aided  to  organize  the  Universalist  State  Convention  in  1866, 
and  ever  afterward  was  a  member  of  its  executive  board  of 
trustees,  being  for  many  years  the  president  of  its  meetings. 
He  was  the  president  of  the  First  Universalist  Society  of  St. 
Paul  since  1866. 

Tracing  his  lineage  from  the  first  Pilgrims  of  Plymouth, 
Mass.,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Mayflower  De- 
scendants of  New  York. 

Four  children  were  born  to  Captain  and  Mrs.  Blakeley  in 
Oalenia,  Illinois,  and  six  in  St.  Paul.  Eight  of  these  survived 
their  father,  namely,  Henry,  born  November  27th,  1854;  Wil- 
liam, born  December  17th,  1857;  Sheldon,  born  July  1st,  1860; 
George  Samson,  born  October  11th,  1862;  John  Margin,  born 
June  14th,  1864;  Ellen,  born  November  27th,  1865,  married 
to  Thomas  L.  Wann,  April  26th,  1887;  Frank  Drummond,  born 
December  18th,  1867;  and  Marguerite  Elizabeth,  born  October 
6th,  1872,  married  to  Harold  P.  Bend,  October  28th,  1897. 

The  latest  work  of  Captain  Blakeley  was  a  compilation, 
chiefly  from  the  Library  of  the  Historical  Society,  supple- 
mented by  much  correspondence,  showing  the  ancestry  of 
himself  and  his  children.  This  work,  which  is  left  in  manu- 
script, he  intended  to  publish  after  its  revision  by  others  of 
his  kindred. 

During  the  last  few  months,  most  of  his  bodily  powers 
gradually  failed  with  the  weakness  common  to  old  age;  but 
his  hearing,  sight,  and  mental  powers,  remained  nearly  in 
their  ordinary  vigor  till  a  few  days  before  his  death,  which 
occurred  at  his  home  in  St.  Paul,  February  4th,  1901.  He 
went  cheerfully  from  this  mortal  life,  with  clear  Christian  faith 
in  a  better  and  immortal  future  life. 

Wareex  Upham. 


OTHER  DECEASED  MEMBERS  OF  THIS  SOCIETY, 
1898-1901. 

Franklin  G.  Adams  was  born  in  Rodman,  Jefferson 
county,  N,  Y.,  May  13th,  1824,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Topeka, 
Kansas,  December  2d,  1899.  He  was  elected  a  corresponding 
member  of  this  society  February  8th,  1897.  He  was  brought 
up  on  a  farm,  and  had  only  a  common  school  education;  but 
after  removing  to  Cincinnati,  in  1843,  he  spent  the  next  several 
years  as  a  school  teacher,  and  as  a  law  student,  graduating 
from  the  law  department  of  the  Cincinnati  College  in  1852. 
He  came  to  Kansas  in  1855;  was  register  of  the  United  States 
Land  Office  in  Topeka;  was  probate  judge  of  Atchison  county; 
and  from  1876  until  his  death  was  the  very  efficient  secretary 
of  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society. 

Levi  Atwood  was  born  in  Chatham,  Mass.,  in  1824,  and 
died  at  his  home  in  that  town  September  3d,  1898.  During 
many  years  he  was  an  editor  of  the  Chatham  Monitor ;  and 
he  was  town  clerk  and  treasurer  twenty-six  years.  April  10th, 
1876,  he  was  elected  a  corresponding  member  of  this  society. 

William  M.  Bushnell,  elected  to  life  membership  in  this 
society  April  14th,  1890,  was  born  in  Lafayette,  Stark  county, 
Illinois,  January  23d,  1853,  and  came  to  Minnesota,  settling  in 
St,  Paul,  in  1874.  He  was  engaged  here  in  the  sale  of  agri- 
cultural implements  and  machinery  during  eleven  years,  and 
afterward  in  real  estate  business.  In  1889  he  was  president 
of  the  State  Agricultural  Society.  He  died  January  1st,  1901, 
in  Monterey,  Mexico. 

Alexander  H.  Cathcart  was  born  in  Toronto,  Canada, 
July  24th,  1820;  and  died  at  his  home  in  St.  Paul,  October  3d, 
1899.    At  the  a^e  of  eleven  years  he  began  as  an  apprentice 


g72  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

in  the  retail  dry  goods  business,  which  ha  followed  about  fifty 
years.  In  1841  he  removed  to  Montreal,  and  later  to  New 
York  City,  whence  he  came  to  St.  Paul  in  1850,  being  one  of 
the  earliest  merchants  here.  He  was  a  charter  member  of 
the  St.  Paul  Chamber  of  Commerce.  January  15th,  1856,  he 
was  elected  a  life  member  of  this  society.  In  1864  he  was 
elected  to  its  Executive  Council,  and  served  six  years.  Later, 
he  was  again  a  councilor  from  1882  to  1885,  and  from  1888 
to  1897. 

Robert  Clarke,  publisher,  bibliographer,  historian,  and 
archaeologist,  died  at  his  home  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  August 
26th,  1899.  He  was  elected  a  corresponding  member  of  this 
society  November  9th,  1868.  He  was  born  in  Annan,  Scot- 
land, May  1st,  1829;  came,  with  his  parents,  to  Cincinnati  in 
1840;  was  educated  at  Woodward  College;  was  author  and 
editor  of  numerous  books  of  Ohio  history;  and  was  publisher 
of  many  important  historical  works. 

Elliott  Coues,  who  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of 
this  society  May  14th,  1894,  was  born  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H., 
September  9th,  1842,  and  died  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  December 
25th,  1899.  He  graduated  at  Columbian  University,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  in  1861;  entered  the  United  States  Army  as  a 
medical  cadet  in  1862,  and  two  years  later  became  an  assistant 
surgeon.  From  1876  to  1880  he  was  secretary  and  naturalist 
of  the  U.  S.  Geological  and  Geographical  Survey  of  the  Terri* 
tories,  under  direction  of  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden.  During  thirty 
years  Dr.  Coues  was  active  as  an  author  and  editor  of  works 
of  ornithology  and  other  branches  of  zoology;  and  in  recent 
years  he  was  editor  of  new  editions  of  the  reports  of  Lewis 
and  Clark  and  of  Pike,  and  the  journal  of  Alexander  Henry, 
works  of  great  importance  for  the  early  history  of  the 
Northwest. 

Charles  P.  Daly,  jurist,  was  born  in  New  York  City, 
October  31st,  1816;  and  died  at  Sag  Harbor,  N.  Y„  September 
19th,  1899.  He  had  only  a  scanty  school  education,  and  early 
went  to  sea  before  the  mast,  thus  serving  as  a  sailor  three 


OBITUARIES  OF  DECEASED  MEMBERS.  §73 

years.  Later  he  became  a  mechanic's  apprentice,  and  after- 
ward studied  law,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  his)  native  city 
in  1839.  He  became  justice  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  in 
1844,  and  first  judge  in  1857;  and  was  chief  justice  of  New 
York  from  1871  to  1886,  his  term  expiring  by  limitation  of 
age,  when  he  returned  to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Jus- 
tice Daly  had  been  during  many  years  president  of  the  Ameri- 
ca&  Geographical  Society,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death;  and  was 
the  author  of  numerous  pamphlets  and  books.  He  was  elected 
an  honorary  member  of  this  society  in  1856. 

William  Dawson  was  born  in  County  Cavan,  Ireland,  Oc- 
tober 1st,  1825.  After  completion  of  his  education,  he  came 
to  America  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  settled  as  a 
civil  engineer  near  Peterborough,  Ontario.  Three  years  later 
he  removed  to  the  United  States,  and  was  engaged  as  a  school 
teacher  and  as  a  country  merchant  in  the  South,  latest  at 
Laurel  Hill,  Louisiana,  until  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War 
in  1861.  Coming  then  to  the  North  and  locating  in  the  city 
of  St.  Paul,  he  was  actively  engaged  here  as  a  banker  during 
thirty-five  years.  He  served  several  terms  in  the  city  council, 
and  during  three  years,  1878  to  1881,  was  mayor  of  this  city. 
He  died  here  suddenly,  from  apoplexy,  on  the  morning  of 
February  19th,  1901.  Mr.  Dawson  was  elected  a  life  member 
of  this  society  December  8th,  1879. 

Samuel  S.  Baton  was  born  in  Barton,  Vermont,  June 
27th,  1825,  and  spent  much  of  his  early  life  in  Canada,  where 
his  father  was  engaged  in  lumbering.  He  went  to  California 
in  1849,  remained  there  two  years,  and  then  returned  to  the 
East  and  wa$  in  the  insurance  business  during  about  three 
years  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  In  1885  he  came  to  Minnesota,  settling 
in  St.  Paxil,  and  through  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  promi- 
nent in  the  insurance  business  here,  becoming  the  first  secre- 
tary of  the  St.  Paul  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  Company. 
He  was  elected  a  life  member  of  this  society  April  14th,  1879. 
He  died  at  his  tome  in  St.  Paul,  December  5th,  1899. 

William  H.  Egle,  the  eminent  historian  of  Pennsylvania, 
was  born  in  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  September  17th,  1830;  and  died 
43 


674  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

at  his  home  in  that  city,  February  19th],  1901.  He  was  elected 
to  honorary  membership  in  this  society  November  12th,  1894. 
After  receiving  a  public  school  education  he  was  in  succes- 
sion a  compositor,  state  printer,  editor  and  physician,  grad- 
uating from  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1859.  He  served  during  the  Civil  W!ar  as  a 
surgeon  of  Pennsylvania  volunteers.  Since  1871  he  became 
largely  engaged  in  historical  researches,  and  from  1887  to  1900 
was  the  state  librarian  of  Pennsylvania,  During  his  admin- 
istration, the  library  was  removed  from  the  capitol  to  a  sep- 
arate new  building.  He  was  editor  of  the  Colonial  and  State 
Archives,  second  and  third  series;  and  was  author  and  com- 
piler of  many  important  works  of  history,  biography  and 
genealogy. 

Charles  D.  Elfelt  was  born  in Millerstown,  Pa.,  August 
29th;,  1828;  and  died  in  St.  Paid,  April  28th,  1899.  He  came 
to  Minnesota,  settling  at  St.  Paul,  in  1849,  and  during  many 
years  was  engaged  in  the  wholesale  dry  goods  trade,  in  com- 
pany with  his  brothers,  for  which  they  erected  a  large  building 
at  the  corner  of  Third  and  Exchange  streets.  Mr.  Elfelt  had 
been  a  member  of  this  society  and  actively  interested  in  its 
progress  during  all  its  history.  His  name  appears  in  the  earli- 
est published  list  of  members,  in  the  first  issue  of  the  society's 
Annals,  dated  1850.  He  became  a  life  member  January  15th, 
1856,  and:  was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Council  since  1889. 

Mahlon N.Gilbert  was  born  in  Laurens,  Otsego  county, 
N.  Y.,  March  23d,  1848.  He  was  a  student  three  years  in 
Hobart  College,  Geneva,  N.  Y.;  but  at  the  beginning  of  his 
senior  year,  in  1869,  was  obliged  to  relinquish  his  studies 
because  of  ill  health.  In  1875  he  graduated  from  the  Seabury 
Divinity  School,  Faribault,  Minn.  After  six  years  of  pastor- 
ates in  Deer  Lodge  and  Helena,  Montana,  he  was  called  to 
Christ  Church  in  St.  Paul,  and  this  city  was  ever  afterward 
his  home.  In  1886  he  was  elected  assistant  bishop  of  Minne- 
sota. He  became  an  annual  member  of  this  society  in  1883, 
and  a  life  member  January  9th,  1888.    He  died  at  his  home 


OBITUARIES  OF  DEOUASE£>  MEMBERS.  675 

after  a  short  illness  of  pneumonia,  March  2d,  1900.  His  ear- 
nest and  noble  life  had  deeply  endeiared  him  to  all  who  knew 
him.  An  address  which  he  delivered  to  this  society  had  been 
printed  before  his  death  in  the  early  part  of  this  volume 
(pages  181-196). 

William  Wirt  Henry,  a  grandson  of  Patrick  Henry,  was 
born  at  Eed  Hill,  Charlotte  county,  Va.,  February  14th,  1831; 
and  died  an  Richmond,  Va.,  December  5th,  1900.  He  was 
elected  a  corresponding  member  of  this  society  February  8th, 
1897.  He  graduated  from  the  University  of  Virginia;  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1853,  and  practiced  law  during  many 
years;  was  president  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society,  and 
of  the  American  Historical  Association;  and  was  author  and 
editor  of  the  "Life,  Correspondence,  and  Speeches  of  Patrick 
Henry." 

Charles  J.  Hoadly,  during  forty-five  years  state  librarian 
of  Connecticut,  and  since  1895  president  of  the  Connecticut 
Historical  Society,  was  born  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  August  1st, 
1828,  and  died  at  his  home  in  that  city  October  19th,  1900. 
He  graduated  from  Trinity  College  in  1851;  and  was  appointed 
librarian  of  that  college  in  1854.  The  next  year  he  was  ap- 
pointed state  librarian,  succeeding  Dr.  J.  Hammond  Trumbull 
He  copied  and  edited,  with  valuable  annotations,  sixteen  vol- 
umes of  the  Colonial  and  State  Eiecords  of  Connecticut.  He 
was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  this  society  November  8th, 
1897. 

John  R  Jones  was  born  in  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  May 
18th,  1828;  and  died  at  his  home  in  Chatfield  Minn.,  June 
26th,  1900.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Fillmore  county, 
locating  at  Chatfield  in  1854,  as  a  young  lawyer,  and  soon 
became  the  official  county  attorney.  This  position  he  resigned 
in  1857,  having  been  elected  to  the  State  Senate.  In  the 
Sioux  war  of  the  years  1862  to  1865  he  enlisted  as  a  private, 
was  mustered  in  as  the  captain  of  Company  A  in  the  Second 
Minnesota  Cavalry,  participated  in  several  battles  with  the 
Indians,  and  was  promoted  to  the   rank  of   major.    In  the 


676  MINNESOTA  mSTORIClAIj  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

ensuing  years  he  built  up  a  very  extensive  law  practice.  He 
became  an  annual  member  of  this  society  in  1S79,  and  was 
elected  to  life  membership  December  8th,  1884. 

William  H.  Kelley  was  born  in  Boston,  Mass.,  May  9th, 
1819;  and  died  at  his  home  in  St.  Paul,  April  3d  1900.  He 
came  to  Minnesota  in  1855,  and  to  this  city  in  1856,  which 
was  thenceforward  his  home,  excepting  an  int  .rval  of  five 
years'  residence  in  the  South.  During  many  ^  ears  he  was 
the  chief  bookkeeper  of  the  First  National  Ban  l  of  St.  Paul; 
and  he  was  connected  with  this  bank,  before  and  after  his 
absence  in  the  South,  for  more  than  thirty  ye^rs.  Mr.  Kelley 
was  much  interested  in  the  work  of  this  society,  and  was  its 
actuary,  in  care  of  the  library  and  museum,  m  1858  and  1859. 
December  26th,  1863,  he  was  elected  its  recretary  for  the 
remaining  month  of  the  term  left  vacant  "f/y  the  resignation 
of  Dr.  Neill;  and1  from  1864  to  1874  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Executive  Council.  At  the  organization  of  the  St.  Paul  Li- 
brary Association,  in  1863,  Mr.  Kelley  beeanie  its  secretary; 
and  in  1882  he  was  elected  secretary  of  the  board  of  directors 
of  the  City  Public  Library,  and  continued  in  that  position 
until  about  a  year  before  his  death.  One  of  his  recreations 
was  the  study  of  botany  and  the  collection  of. a  herbarium, 
which,  after  his  de^th,  was  conditionally  donated  by  Mrs.  Kel- 
ley to  this  society's  museum.  It  includes  about  2,000  speci- 
mens/mostly collected  in  St.  Paul  and  its  vicinity. 

Patrick  H.  Kelly  was  born  February  id,  1831,  in  County 
Mayo,  Ireland,  and  died  at  his  home  in  St.  Paul,  October  23d, 
190Q.  He  emigrated  to  Montreal,  Canada,  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen years,  and  remained  there  about  one  year.  Next  he  was 
a  clerk  and  merchant  nine  years  in  the  village  of  Mooers,  N.  Y. 
In  1857  Mr.  Kelly,  with  his  brother  Anthony,  came  to  Min- 
nesota. The  two  brothers  were  in  the  grocery  business  at  St. 
Anthony  during  the  next  six  years.  In  1863  Mr.  Patrick  Kelly 
removed  to  St.  Paul,  and  was  here  engaged  as  a  wholesale 
grocer  during  the  ensuing  thirty-seven  years,  until  his  death. 
"He  was  a  most  public-spirited  citizen,  and  in  many  ways  con- 
tributed greatly  to  the  advancement  of  the  commercial,  edu- 


OBITUARIES  OF  DECEASED  MEMBERS.  577 

cational,  and  political  interests  of  St.  Paul  and  of  Minnesota. 
He  was  elected  a  life  member  of  this  society  March  12th,  1877. 

John  Jay  Lane,  of  Austin,  Texas,  who  was  elected  a  cor- 
responding member  of  this  society  February  8th,  1897,  died 
in  that  city  July  17th,  1899.  He  was  a  resident  of  New  Orleans 
before  the  Civil  war.  During  the  last  twenty  years  of  his 
life  he  resided  in  Austin,  being  engaged  in  journalism  as 
correspondent  of  several  newspapers.  He  was  secretary  of 
the  board  of  regents  of  the  University  of  Texas  during  many 
years,  and  in  1891  published  a  history  of  that  university  (322 
pages).  :       ! 

Edward  Gay  Mason  was  born  in  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  Au- 
gust 23d,  1839;  and  died  at  his  home  in  Chicago,  December 
18th,  1898.  He  graduated  at  Yale  college  in  1860,  studied  law 
in  Chicago,  and  became  prominent  in  the  practice  of  law  in 
that  city.  He  was  elected  a  corresponding  member  of  this 
society  May  14th,  1883.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society  in  1880,  and  was  its  president  during  the 
last  eleven  years  of  his  life,  being  elected  to  that  office  in 
November,  1887. 

Prank  Blackwell  Mayer,  artist,  was  elected  a  corre- 
sponding member  of  this  society  at  a  very  early  date,  probably 
in  1851.  He  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  December  27th, 
1827;  and  died  at  his  home  in  Annapolis,  Md.,  July  28th,  1899. 
After  studying  with  celebrated  painters  in  Paris,  he  made  a 
tour  of  the  western  frontier  of  the  United  States,  and  was 
present  at  the  treaty  made  by  Governor  Ramsey  with  the 
Sioux  Indians  at  Traverse  des  Sioux,  July  23d,  1851.  A  pic- 
ture of  the  scene  of  the  treaty,  which  he  painted  for  this 
society,  is  displayed  in  its  library. 

Delos  A.  Monfort  was  born  in  Hamden,  N.  Y.,  April  6th, 
1835;  and  died  in  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  Aug.  26th,  1899.  He 
first  visited  Minnesota  in  1854,  and  three  years  later  came 
here  to  reside,  settling  in  St.  Paul,  which  was  ever  after- 
ward his  home.  He  was  first  engaged  with  the  banking  firm 
of  Edgerton  and  Mackubin,  and  afterward  was  cashier  of 


678  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  People's  Bank.  From  1864,  the  date  of  organization 
of  the  Second  National  Bank,  he  served  during  nearly  thirty 
years  as  its  cashier  and  a  part  of  the  time  as  vice  president. 
In  1893  he  succeeded  the  late  E.  S.  Edgerton  as  president  of 
this  bank,  which  position  he  held  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  wasi  elected  a  life  member  of  this  society  January  13th, 
x«90,  and  was  a  member  of  its  Executive  Council  since  Jan- 
uary 19th,  1891. 

Amos  Perry,  who  was  elected  a  corresponding  member 
of  this  society  December  10th,  1894,  was  born  in  South  Natick, 
Mass.,  August  12th,  1812.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1839,  and  afterwards  taught  in  New  London,  Conn.,  and 
Providence,  K.  I.  He  visited  Europe  several  times,  and  from 
1862  to  1867  was  United  States  consul  at  Tunis.  He  was 
secretary  of  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society  since  1873, 
and  its  librarian  since  1880.  His  death  occurred  during  a 
visit  to  New  London,  Conn.,  August  10th,  1899. 

John  Thomas  Scharp  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Md1.,  May 
1st,  1843;  and  died  in  New  York  City,  February  28th,  1898. 
He  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  this  society  February 
12th,  1877.  He  enlisted  in  the  First  Maryland  Artillery  of 
the  Confederate  Army,  June  1st,  1861,  and  served  two  years, 
being  wounded  in  several  battles;  and  afterward  was  a  mid- 
shipman in  the  Confederate  Navy.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
Baltimore  county  bar  in  1873,  and  practiced  law  in  Baltimore, 
and  since  1897  in  New  York  City.  He  was  the  author  of  many 
historical  works  on  Maryland!,  Delaware,  the  cities  of  Phila- 
delphia and  St*.  Louis,,  the  Confederate  States  Navy,  etc.,  the 
earliest  being  "Chronicles  of  Baltimore,"  published  in  1874. 

Isaac  Staples  was  born  in  Topsham,  Maine,  September 
25th,  1816;  and  died  at  his  home  in  Stillwater,  Minn.,  June 
27th,  1898.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  began  work  on 
his  own  account  in  lumbering  on  the  Penobscot  river.  In 
1853  he  came  to  Minnesota,  locating  in  Stillwater,  and  was 
engaged  there,  and  on  the  St.  Croix  river  and  its  branches, 
in  extensive  and  prosperous  lumbering,  farming,  and  manu- 


OBITUARIES  OF  DECEASED  MEMBERS.  079 

facturing  industries.  He  continued  in  active  business  until 
a  year  or  two  before  his  death.  He  was  elected  to  this  society, 
as  a  life  member,  April  14th,  1890. 

George  C.  Stone  was  born  in  Shrewsbury,  Mass.,  Novem- 
ber 11th,  1822,  and  died  in  Duluth,  Minn.,  October  25th,  1900. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  removed,  with  his  father  and 
family,  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.  After  reaching  manhood,  he  was 
engaged  in  mercantile  business,  and  as  a  banker,  in  Bloom- 
ington  (now  Muscatine),  Iowa,  in  Chicago,  and  in  New  York 
and  Philadelphia.  In  the  year  1869  he  came  to  Duluth,  and 
thenceforward  was  actively  interested  in  the  upbuilding  of 
that  city,  and  in  the  development  of  the  natural  resources  of 
northeastern  Minnesota.  To  Mr.  Stone,  perhaps  more  than 
to  any  other  one  man,  was  due  the  railroad  building  and  min- 
ing which  have  placed  Minnesota  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
states  of  the  Union  in  respect  to  the  production  of  iron  ore. 
He  was  elected  a  life  member  of  this  society  June  11th,  1883. 

William  S.  Stryker,  who  was  elected  to  corresponding 
membership  in  this  society  February  8th,  1897,  was  born  in 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  June  6th,  1838;  and  died  October  29th,  1900. 
He  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1858;  served  in  the  Civil  War; 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1866;  and  was  adjutant  general 
of  New  Jersey  during  more  than  thirty  years,  from  1867.  He 
was  president  of  the  Society  of  Cincinnati  in  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  and  of  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society;  was  com* 
piler  of  "Officers  and  Men  of  New  Jersey  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,"  and  of  a  similar  but  larger  work,  in  two  volumes,  giving 
the  roister  of  this  state  in  the  Civil  War;  and  was  author  of 
numerous  historical  pamphlets  and  books,  including  a  volume 
published  in  1898,  entitled  "The  Battles  of  Trenton  and 
Princeton." 

George  W.  Sweet  was  born  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  Septem- 
ber 20th,  1823;  and  died  in  Havre,  Montana,  March  14th,  1898. 
He  came  to  Minnesota  during  President  Pierce's  administra- 
tion ajs  register  of  the  United  States  Land  Office  at  Sauk 
Rapids.    He  was  a  member  of  the  second  state  legislature 


680  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

in  1859-60.  [Later  he  resided  in  St.  Paul,  and  was  the  attorney 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  during  the  building 
of  its  line  from  St.  Paul  to  Bism-p***1-,  North  Dakota.  After- 
ward he  lived  in  Bismarck,  platted  that  town;,  and  practiced 
law  there.  In  1890  he  removed  to  Havre,  and  was  also  en- 
gaged there  in  the  practice  of  law.  He  was  elected  to  life 
membership  in  this  society  May  6th,  1858. 

Charles  L.  Willis  was  born  in  Erie,  Pa.,  August  18th, 
1819;  and  died  at  his  home  in  St.  Paul,  June  29th,  1898.  He 
graduated  at  the  Harvard  Law  School  in  1847,  and  came  to 
Minnesota  in  1850,  settling  in  St.  Paul,  where  he  ever  after- 
ward resided.  During  many  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  prac- 
tice of  law,  and  also  had  considerable  interests  in  real  estate 
here,  and  in  Superior  and  Ashland,  Wisconsin,  He  was  elected 
a  life  member  of  this  society  January  15th,  1856. 

John  C.  Wise  was  born  in  Hagerstown,  Md.,  September 
4th,  1834;  came  to  Minnesota  in  1859,  settling  at  Mankato, 
where  through  the  remainder  of  his  life  he  was  an  enterprising 
and  influential  editor;  and  died  at  his  home  in  that  city  Novem- 
ber 17th,  1900.  He  began  publication  of  the  Mankato  Record 
in  1859,  and  was  its  editor  nine  years.  In  1869  he  founded  the 
Mankato  Review,  which  he  edited  thirty-one  years,  until  his 
death.  He  was  a  prominent  Democrat,  was  a  delegate  to  the 
presidential  nominating  conventions  in  1872  and  1884,  and  was 
the  postmaster  of  Mankato  during  a  part  of  each  of  the  ad- 
ministrations of  President  Cleveland.  He  was  elected  to  life 
membership  in  this  society  January  10th,  1898. 


IHDEX. 


Academies,  603,  608. 

Accau,  Michel,  225,  227,  231,  232. 

Acton,  434. 

Adams,  Franklin  G.,  obituary  sketch, 

671. 
Adams,  Rev.  Moses  N.,  439,  445,  450; 
The  Sioux  Outbreak  in  the  Year 
1862,    with   Notes    of   Missionary- 
Work  among  the  Sioux,  431-452; 
see  Contents. 
Afton,  saw  mills,  305. 
Agricultural  Society,   Redwood  coun- 
ty, 286. 
Agriculture  of  the  O  jib  ways,  77,  332; 

of  the  Sioux,  396. 
Aitkin,  William  A.,  370. 
Aiton,  Rev.  John  F.,  450. 
Algonquin     Indians     and    languages, 

128,  129. 
Algonquin,  schooner  on  lake  Superior, 

263. 
America,    sung   at   Fiftieth   Anniver- 
sary, 636. 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 

204,  292,  436. 
American  Fur  Company,  13,  147, 163, 
164,  165,  167,  169,  170,  199,  243, 
,  366,  369. 
Ames,  Michael  E.,  562. 
Ames  William  L.,  318. 
Anawag-ma-ne,  Simon,  447,  579. 
Anglo-American  alliance,  496. 
Anian,  straits  of,  230,  231. 
Anniversary,    Fiftieth,    of   Minnesota 
Historical    Society,    549-636;    see 
Contents. 
Annuities  of  the  Ojibways,  74,  85,  97, 
104,  120-123. 
of  the  Sioux,  132,  280,  370,  432,  433, 
580. 
Anoka,  first  sawmills,  351. 
Apple  river,  Wis.,  sawmills,  306. 
Aquipaguetin,  Sioux  chief,  227,  229. 
Arbitration  of  the  San  Juan  boundary, 

50t53. 
Areola,  sawmills,  316. 
Argyll,  Duke  of,  142. 
Asiatic  origin   of  American   Indians, 

108. 
Astor,  John  Jacob,  7,  13,  503. 
Astor  expedition,  503. 
Astoria,  504. 
Atchison,  Capt.  John,  326,  389. 

44 


Atwater,  Hon.  Caleb,  of  Ohio,  560. 
Atwater,  Hon.  Isaac,  188. 
Atwood,  Levi,  obituary  sketch,  671. 
Auguel,   Antoine,  225,  227,  229,  231, 

232. 
Auld  Lang  Syne,  596. 
Ayer,  Rev.  Frederick,  292,  583. 


Baasen,  Francis,  284. 

Babbitt,  Miss  Frances  E.,  3. 

Babcock,  Lorenzo  A.,  152,  561,  562. 

Babyhood,  Ojibway,  86. 

Bad  Boy,  Ojibway  Chief,   132. 

Bailey,  William  C,  272. 

Bailly,  Alexis,  154,  584. 

Baker,  Gen.  James  H.,  622;  History 
of  Transportation  in  Minnesota, 
1-34;  see  Contents. 

Baltimore,  Md.,  364, 

Bancroft,  George,  quoted,  453. 

Banking  in  Minnesota,  593. 

Bardon,  James,  263. 

Barnes,  Thomas  G.,  263. 

Barnett,  Rev.  John  M.,  274,  275,  278. 

Bass,  Jacob  W.,  146. 

Bathing,  Ojibway,  98. 

Battles  of  Ojibways  and  Sioux,  105, 
314,  315,  373,  374. 

Baynes,  Rear  Admiral,  44,  45,  47. 

Bazalgette,  Captain,  47,  52. 

Beaulieu,  Paul,  61. 

Beaver  Bay,  250. 

Becker,  Hon.  George  L.,  162,  563,  566. 

Beef  Slough,  321. 

Beginnings  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Minnesota,  and  the  Early  Mis- 
sions of  Park  Place,  St.  Paul,  pa- 
per by  Bishop  M.  N.  Gilbert,  181- 
196. 

Bemidji,  107. 

Benton,  Hon.  Thomas  H.,  quoted, 
488,  506. 

Berkeley,  Bishop  George,  508. 

Berry-picking  by  Ojibways,  71. 

Bigelow,  Horace  R.,  200. 

Biographic  Notes  of  Old  Settlers,  pa- 
per by  Hon.  Henry  L.  Moss,  143- 
162;  see  Contents. 

Biographic  Sketches,  with  History  of 
Lumbering  in  the  St.  Croix  Val- 
ley, paper  by  William  H.  C,  Fol- 
som,  291-324;  see  Contents. 


682 


INDEX. 


Biographic  Sketches,  with  History  of 
Pioneer  Lumbering  on  the  Upper 
Mississippi  and  its  Tributaries, 
paper  by  Daniel  Stanchfield,  325- 
362;  see  Contents. 

Birch  Coulie,  battle,  400,  401,  441-446. 

Birum  Brothers,  287. 

Bishop,  Harriet  E.,  154,  157. 

Black,  Mahlon,  155. 

Black  Hills,  South  Dakota,  668. 

Blaine,  Hon.  James  G.,  quoted,  506. 

Blair,  Hon.  Frank  P.,  Jr.,  173. 

Blakeley,  Capt.  Russell,  16,  17,  19, 
27,  157,  160,  389,  391,  549,  578, 
583,  585,  597;  obituary  sketch,  665- 
670. 

Boal,  James  McClellan,  148. 

Bonaparte,  Joseph,  478,  639. 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  472,  478,  482, 
484,  489,  527-540,  621,  660. 

Bonga,  George  and  Jack,  199,  584; 
also  see  Bungo. 

Boom,  logging,  St.  Anthony,  343. 

Boom  Company,  St.  Croix,  317. 

Borup,  Charles  W.  W„  13,  151,  199, 
201,  341,  348,  584,  593. 

Botany,  progress  of  science  and  teach- 
ing, 612-614. 

Bottineau,  Pierre,  329,  354,  367,  377. 

Bottineau,  Severre,  329,  338,  353,  354. 

Boundaries,  original,  of  the  United 
States,  1783,  522. 

Boundaries  of  the  Louisiana  purchase, 
485-490,  500-507,  521,  535-540. 

Boundaries  of  Minnesota  as  Territory 
and  State,  544-546. 

Boundary,  eastern,  of  Minnesota,  145, 
294,  296,  324,  544. 

Boundary,  northwestern,  of  United 
States,  in  the  San  Juan  archipel- 
ago, 35-54. 

Bourne,  W.  E.,  309. 

Boutwell,  Rev.  William  T.,  220,  247, 
248  273 

Bowron,  Hon.  Joseph,  301,  307,  308. 

Bradbury  brook,  331. 

Brass,  Mrs.  Maggie  (Snana),  Narra- 
tion of  a  Friendly  Sioux,  427-430. 

Breck,  Rev.  James  Lloyd,  104,  130, 
182-195,  205,  206. 

Breckenridge,  Hon.  John,  quoted,  498. 

Bremer,  Fredrika,  185,  315. 

Brewster,  Mass.,  659,  663. 

Brisbin,  Hon.  John  B.,  156. 

Brower,  Hon.  J.  V.,  5,  573. 

Brown,  A.  Vance,  593. 

Brown,  Edwin  H.,  277. 

Brown,  Joseph  R.,  7,  179,  293,  298, 
300,  342,  375,  427,  442,  584. 

Brownell,  George  W.,  296. 

Brunson,  Benjamin  W.,  154,  161,  251. 

Brunson,  Ira  B„  161,  378. 

Buchanan,  President  James,  41,  46. 

Buchanan,  St.  Louis  county,  272. 

Buckhart,  Charles,  307,  308. 

Buckingham,  F.  A.,  255,  256. 


Buffaloes,  57,  364,  385,  558,  585,  589. 
Bungo,  56;  also  see  Bonga. 
Burbank,  J.  C,  and  Co.,  18,  27,  578, 

585,  667. 
Burkleo,  Samuel,  154,  300,  317. 
Burnett  county,  Wis.,  sawmills,  313. 
Bushnell,      William      M.,      obituary 

sketch,  671. 
Butter  making,  592. 

Cadotte,  Jean  Baptiste,  243. 

California,  379,  547,  595. 

Cambridge,  Minn.,  330,  342. 

Camp  Release,  393,  418-422,  426. 

Campbell,  Scott,  367,  369,  372. 

Canal  de  Haro,  37-52. 

Canals,  transportation,  14. 

Canby,  Gen.  E.  S.,  53. 

Canoe  transportation,  2-14,  76,  94, 
111. 

Capital  of  Minnesota,  proposes  re- 
moval to  St.  Peter,  155. 

Captivity  among  the  Sioux,  Augi.  <t 
18  to  September  26,  1862,  pape, 
by  Mrs.  N.  D.  White,  395-426; 
see  Contents. 

Carey,  Hon.  John  R.,  255,  261,  269; 
History  of  Duluth,  and  of  St. 
Louis  County,  to  the  Year  1870, 
241-278;  see  Contents. 

Carli,  Mrs.,  375. 

Carlton,  Reuben  B.,  250. 

Carlton  county,  250,  277,  310. 

Carondelet,  Baron  de,  470,  471. 

Carpenter,  C.  W.,  667. 

Carrothers,  Mrs.  James,  404,  405. 
Mrs.  David,  422. 

Carter,  Sibyl,  136. 

Carter,  William  G.,  375,  376. 

Carver,  Jonathan,  6. 

Casey,  Lt.  Col.  Silas,  43-48. 

Cass,  Gen.  Lewis,  13,  49,  220,  244, 
324,  547,  576. 

Cass  lake,  220. 

Cass  Lake  Ojibways,  72,  78,  80,  90, 
96,  98,  101. 

Caster.  T.  W.,  281,  283. 

Cathcart,  Alexander  H.,  obituary 
sketch,  671. 

Cattle,  neglect  by  Ojibways,  101. 

Cavalier,  Charles,  149,  165. 

Cedar  Lake,  401. 

Celebration  of  the  Fiftieth  Anniver- 
sary of  the  Minnesota  Historical 
Society,  549-636;  see  Contents. 

Census  statistics,  590,  595. 

Chalmers,  William,  304. 

Chants  of  Ojibways,  6Q;  of  Sioux, 
418. 

Charette,  Joseph,  74. 

Charlevoix,  quoted,  236. 

Chase,  Aaron  M.,  306. 

Chaskedan,  friendly  Sioux,  447. 

Oheever,  Benjamin,  328. 

Chess  playing,  203. 

Chiefs,  Ojibway,  74. 


INDEX. 


683 


Childhood,  Ojibway,  86. 
Children,  Ojibway  affection  for  their, 
64,  85;  abandonment,  85;  mortal- 
ity, 97,  125. 
Chippewa  Indian  Commission,  125. 
Chippewa  river,  Wis.,  lumbering,  321, 

323. 
Chippewas;  see  Ojibways. 
Cholera,  383,  390. 
Chouteau,  Pierre,  Jr.,  166,  36Q. 
Chouteau,  Pierre,  Jr.,  and  Co.,  7,  13, 

341. 
Christianity  among  Ojibways,  60,  61, 
75,   79,  84,  94,  126,  128,  129-142, 
586. 
among  Sioux,  208,  428,  446-452,  579, 
586. 
Churches,   first  in   Duluth,   etc.,   273, 

274, 
Circleville,  Ohio,  560. 
Civil  War,  volunteers  from  St.  Louis 

county,  271. 
Civilization    and    Christianization    of 
the  Ojibways  in  Minnesota,  paper 
by  Bishop  Henry  B.  Whipple,  129- 
142. 
Clam  river,  Wis.,  sawmills,  313. 
Clark,  Hon.  Greenleaf,  549. 
Clark,  Thomas,  250. 
Clark,  Capt.  William,  503. 
Clarke,  Robert,  obituary  sketch,  672. 
Clearwater,  first  sawmills,  352. 
Cleveland,  President,  141. 
Clifton,  253. 

Climate  of  Minnesota,  270,  394,  589. 
Clitherall,  Major  George  B.,  210,  211. 
Cloquet,  312. 
Cloud  Man,  a  Sioux,  435. 
Clough,    Col.    William    P.,    549,    622; 
The  Work  of  the  Minnesota  His- 
torical     Society     through     Fifty 
Years    in    preserving     Minnesota 
History,  and  its  Duty  to  the  Fu- 
ture, 627-636. 
Coburn,  R.  G.,  264,  265. 
Cold,  endurance  of,  by  Ojibways,  Q8, 

69;  decreased,  270. 
Colleges,  604,  615,  632. 
Columbia  river,  discovery,  500,  503. 
Columbus,  Ohio,  640. 
Commerce  of  lake  Superior,  21-23. 
Congress,  Minnesota  in  the  National, 
during  Fifty  Years,  paper  by  Gen. 
John  B.  Sanborn,  623-626. 
Connecticut,  513,  525,  571,  615,  675. 
Connelly,  Colonel,  464,  465. 
Constitutional  Convention,  1857,  174. 
Consumption,  among  Ojibways,  125. 
Cooper,  Hon.  David,  159,  561,  562. 
Copway,  George,  248. 
Corn,  cultivated  by  Ojibways,  77;  by 

Sioux,  396. 
Corwin,  Hon.  Thomas,  564,  649. 
Cottage  Grove,  152,  189,  372. 
Cottonwood  river,  281. 


Coues,    Dr.    Elliott,    obituary    sketch, 

672. 
Councils   of   Ojibways,   82,   125,   137, 

138. 
Counties   of   northeastern   Minnesota, 

244. 
Coureurs  des  bois,  11,  363. 
Cowell,  William  G.,  272. 
Cox,  William  S.,  200,  201. 
Crawford  county,  300,  324. 
Creameries,  592. 
Crooks,  Hester,  248,  292. 
Crooks,  Ramsay,  7,  13,  19,  248. 
Crooks,  Col.  William,  642. 
Cross,  George  F.,  360. 
Crow  Wing,  93,  132,  151. 
Crozat,  540. 

Cruisers,  for  lumbering,  344,  353. 
Culver,  Col.  Joshua  B.,  250,  251,  253, 

255,  257,  269,  271,  272,  278. 
Cushing,  Hon.  Caleb,  295,  327,  328, 

333,  339. 
Custer,  Gen.  George  A.,  quoted,  580. 

Daggett,  George  H.,  549. 

Dairy  industry,  592. 

Dakota  Indians,  432,  434,  446-449, 
451,  557;  see  Sioux. 

Dakota  Lexicon,  563. 

Dakotah  (now  part  of  Stillwater),  300, 
302. 

Daly,  Judge  Charles  P.,  obituary 
sketch,  672. 

Dances  of  Ojibways,  114-117,  121, 
123;  of  Sioux,  117,  416. 

Daniels,  Dr.  J.  W.,  222,  579. 

Davis,  Hon.  Cushman  K.,  601;  Prog- 
ress of  the  United  States  during; 
the  Half  Century,  617-622. 

Davis,  Samuel  M.,  Hennepin  as  Dis- 
coverer and  Author,  222-240;  The 
Dual  Origin  of  Minnesota,  519- 
548;  for  each,  see  Contents. 

Dawson,  William,  188;  obituary 
sketch,  673. 

Dawson  route  from  Lake  Superior  to* 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  16. 

Debts,  of  Ojibways,  73,  97. 

DeCamp  family,  448. 

Decres,  482,  487,  488,  527,  528,  538. 

Deer,  57,  99,  100,  589. 

DeGraff,  Andrew,  641,  642. 

DeMichel,  on  Hennepin,  quoted,  235. 

Democratic  party,  168-180,  209-211, 
507. 

Dewey,  Dr.  John  J.,  149,  165. 

Dismemberment  of  the  Union,  Span- 
ish Intrigues  for,  and  the  Louis- 
iana Purchase,  paper  by  Nathan- 
iel P.  Langford,  453-508;  see  Con- 
tents. 

District  schools,  606-608. 

Dodd,  John  Van  Ingen,  209. 

Dodge,  Gov.  Henry,  292. 

Dog  feast,  of  Sioux,  415. 

Dog  trains,  21,  270. 


684 


INDEX. 


Donations  to  colleges  and  universities, 
1899,  615,  616. 

Dorr,  Caleb  D.,  333,  348;  biographic 
sketch,  355. 

Doty,  Judge  James  D.,  324. 

Dougan,  Edward  C,  obituary  sketch 
of  Charles  E.  Mayo,  659-664. 

Douglas,  Sir  James,  37,  42,  44,  47. 

Drake,  Elias  Franklin,  27;  obituary 
sketch,  637-653. 

Drew,  Benjamin,  660. 

Brum,  of  Ojibways,  60,  66,  78,  114. 

Dual  Origin  of  Minnesota,  paper  by 
Samuel  M.  Davis,  519-548;  see 
Contents. 

Dual  system  of  United  States  gov- 
ernment, 516. 

DuGay,  225,  227,  229,  231,  232. 

Duluth  city,  213,  253,  312,  585. 

Duluth,  explorer,  233,  241,  254,  292. 

Duluth,  History  of,  and  of  St.  Louis 
County,  to  the  lear  1870,  paper 
by  Hon.  John  R.  Carey,  241-278; 
see  Contents. 

Duly,  William  J.,  426. 

Dummer  academy,  608. 

Dumphy,  Judge  John,  273. 

Dunlap,  John  W.,  281. 

Dunn,  Major  Isaac,  462. 

Durant,  Capt.  E.  W.,  304,  305. 

Dutchman's  Grove,  330,  342. 

Duty  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  So- 
ciety to  the  Future,  paper  by  Col. 
William  P.  Clough,  627-636. 

Eagle  Help,  a  Sioux,  435. 

Eames,  Prof.  H.  H.,  273. 

Earle,  J.  W.,  397-400,  403,  423. 

Early  Missions  of  Park  place,  St. 
Paul,  paper  by  Bishop  M.  N.  Gil- 
bert, 181-196. 

Early  Political  History  of  Minne- 
sota, paper  by  Hon.  Charles  D. 
Gilfillan,  167-180. 

Early  Settlement  and  History  of  Red- 
wood county,  paper  by  Hon.  Or- 
lando B.  Turrell,  279-290. 

Early  Trade  and  Traders  in  St.  Paul, 
paper  by  Charles  D.  Elfelt,  163- 
166. 

Eaton,  Samuel  S.,  obituary  sketch, 
673. 

Ebstein,  Captain,  48,  52,  53. 

Education  in  the  United  States  and 
in  Minnesota  during  the  past  Fifty 
Years,  paper  by  Pres.  Cyrus 
Northrop,  602-616;  see  Contents. 

Egle,  Dr.  William  H.,  obituary 
sketch,  673. 

Election,  first,  in  Duluth,  248. 

Elfelt,  Charles  D.,  Early  Trade  and 
Tiaders  in  St.  Paul,  163-166; 
obituary  sketch,  674. 

Elfelt  Brothers,  166. 

Elk,  585,  589. 

Elk  River,  first  sawmill,  352. 


Ellison,  Smith,  304,  305. 

Ely,  Rev.  Edmund  F.,  246,  253,  255, 
262,  267,  275,  277. 

Enmegahbowh,  Ojibway  pastor,  27, 
130,  132,  133. 

Episcopal  Church  in  Minnesota,  Be- 
ginnings of  the,  and  the  Early 
Missions  of  Park  Place,  St.  Paul, 
paper  by  Bishop  M.  N.  Gilbert, 
181-196;  missions  to  the  Ojibways 
and  the  Sioux,  129-142,  204-208. 

Evans,  William,  371. 

Fairchild,  Henry  S.,  658. 

Faribault,  Alexander,  137,  584. 

Faribault,  Jean  B.,  7. 

Faribault  (town),  134,  137,  194,  428. 

Farnham,  Sumner  W.,  339,  340,  342; 
biographic  sketch,  356. 

Feasts,  Ojibway,  82;  Sioux,  415. 

Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Minne- 
sota Historical  Society,  Celebra- 
tion, 549-636;  see  Contents. 

Fish,  food  of  Ojibways,  57,  72,  78,  80. 

Fisher,  Jacob,  301. 

Fisher,  Hon.  James,  295. 

Fisk,  Woodbury,  360. 

"Five  million  loan,"  25,  27,  579,  651, 
652. 

Flandrau,  Hon.  Charles  E.,  284,  438; 
Reminiscences  of  Minnesota  dur- 
ing the  Territorial  Period,  197- 
222;  (see  Contents);  Progress  of 
Minnesota  during  the  Half  Cen- 
tury, 587-596. 

Flat  Mouth,  Ojibway  chief,  138. 

Fletcher,  Gen.  J.  E.,  381. 

Fletcher,  Orrin,  281. 

Florida  treaty,  504. 

Flouring  mills,  360,  591,  599. 

Flower,  Gen.  M.  D.,  285. 

Folsom,  Simeon  P.,  147,  160,  391. 

Folsom,  William  H.  C,  301,  316,  317, 
324;  History  of  Lumbering  in  the 
St.  Croix  valley,  with  Biographic 
Sketches,  291-324;  see  Contents. 

Fond  du  Lac,  243,  244,  245,  247,  248, 
250,  255,  273,  275,  276. 

Food  of  Ojibways,  57,  65,  66,  72,  78, 
80,  125;  of  Sioux,  406,  415. 

Forbes,  Rev.  Robert,  Invocation,  551. 

Forbes,  William  H.,  147,  165,  280, 
561,  589. 

Ford,  Henry  C,  262. 

Forest  fires,  297,  324. 

Fort  Garry,  367,  385. 

Fort  Ridgely,  282,  400,  402,  408,  424, 
440-443. 

Fort  Ripley,  132,  336. 

Fort  Snelling,  145,  151,  163,  293,  342, 
428,  566,  582,  655. 

Fort  Steilacoom,  43. 

Fort  Vancouver,  39,  44. 

Fort  William,  9,  13. 

Foster,  Dr.  Thomas,  258,  278. 

Frankland,  state  of,  465,  467. 


INDEX. 


685 


Franklin,  Dr.  Benjamin,  467,  519,520. 

Franklin,  state  of,  465-468. 

Freedom  guaranteed  by  the  ordinance 

of  1787,  517,  518,  526. 
Freeman,  D.  B.,  and  A.  J.,  379-382^ 
Freeman,  Larpenteur  &  Co.,  165,  379, 

381,  382. 
Freemasonry,  Duluth,  273. 
Freight  rates,  32,  103. 
Freighting,     by    Ojibways,     102;     by 

Mississippi    steamboats,    16,    340, 

379,  386. 
French,  A.  R.,  166,  381. 
Fuller,  Hon.  Jerome,  159. 
Fur  trade,  7-14,  33,  71,  163,  369,  370, 

372,  385,  467,  503,  589. 
Furber,  Joseph  W.,  151,  159. 

Galena,  Illinois,  368,  666,  667. 

Galena  and  Minnesota  Packet  Com- 
pany, 16,  17,  665,  666. 

Galtier,  Rev.  Lucian,  163,  367. 

Gambling  by  Ojibways,  81,  122. 

Game,  57,  70,  99,  364,  366,  385,  386, 
585,  589. 

Gardening  by  Ojibways,  107. 

Gardoquoi,  Spanish  minister,  460,  461, 
463,  468. 

Gaspee,  British  vessel,  634. 

Gayarre,  quoted,  456. 

Gear,  Rev.  E.  G.,  187,  583. 

Gegwedjisa,  an  aged  Ojibway,  106. 

Genealogy,  Library  of  Minnesota  His- 
torical Society,  572. 

Georgia,  468,  471,  515. 

Gervais,  Benjamin  and  Pierre,  367, 
372. 

Gifts,  among  Ojibways,  113,  115. 

Gilbert,  Bishop  Mahlon  N.,  Begin- 
nings of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
Minnesota,  'and  the  Early  Mis- 
sions of  Park  Place,  St.  Paul, 
181-196;  obituary  sketch,  674. 

Gilfillan,  Hon.  Charles  D.,  Early  Po- 
litical History  of  Minnesota,  167- 
180. 

Gilfillan,  Rev.  Joseph  A.,  136;  The 
Ojibways  in  Minnesota,  55-128; 
see  Contents. 

Glencoe,  441. 

Godfrey,  Ard,  334,  348. 

Gogarn,  Julius,  271. 

Good  Thunder,  a  Sioux,  427,  429,  430, 
579,  580. 

Goodhue,  James  M.,  17,  18,  24,  167, 
168,  178,  200,  380,  571,  594. 

Goodrich,  Hon.  Aaron,  159,  301,  561. 

Gorman,  Gov.  Willis  A.,  171,  175, 
199,  392. 

Grace,  Bishop  Thomas  L.,  583. 

Graded  schools,  609. 

Grain  raised  by  Indians,  142. 

Grain  transportation,  32. 

Grand  Portage,  9,  10,  12,  14. 

Grand  Rapids,  126. 


Granite  City,  353. 

Granite  quarries,  Redwood  county, 
289. 

Grant,  Capt.  Hiram  P.,  440,  442-445. 

Grant,  Gen.  U.  S.,  138,  140. 

Grant,  Hon.  William  H.,  311. 

Grasshoppers,  288,  580,  642. 

Gray,  Capt.  Robert,  501. 

Gray  Cloud  island,  299;  Sioux  wom- 
an, 427,  428. 

Great  Britain,  631. 

Great  Northern  railway,  29,  30,  593. 

Greeley,  Elam,  145,  301,  302. 

Greeley,  Hon.  Horace,  598. 

Greenfield,  Mrs.  C.  T.,  259. 

Greenfield,  Capt.  George  D.,  265,  266. 

Griffin,  Charles  J.,  42. 

Griggs,  Chauncey  W.,  318. 

Grist  mills,  Duluth,  262;  Redwood 
Falls,  288. 

Groseilliers,  Sieur  des,  4,  241,  242, 
669. 

Guerin,  Vital,  187,  367,  372,  378. 

Gull  lake,  194. 

Gull  river,  lumbering,  360. 

Hall,  Joseph,  375-377. 

Hamlin,  Hon.  Edward  O.,  581. 

Hancock,  Rev.  Joseph  W.,  450. 

Harney,  Gen.  W.  S.,  39,  41,  43. 

Harriman,  Samuel,  306. 

Harris,  Hon.  W.  T.,  quoted,  605. 

Hart,  Rev.  Mark,  103. 

Hartshorn,  William,  164,  367,  371, 
379. 

Harvard  University,  611,  614. 

Hastings,  193,  203,  319. 

Hayner,  Hon.  Henry  Z.,  159. 

Hays,  Sergeant  John,  391. 

Hazelwood   Republic,    435,    438,   447, 

Hazen,  Gen.  William  B.,  598. 

Hazzard,  George  H.,  314. 

Henderson  family,  Sioux  massacre, 
397-400,  424. 

Hennepin,  Father  Louis,  as  Discov- 
erer and  Author,  paper  by  Sam- 
uel M.  Davis,  223-240;  see  Con- 
tents. 

Hennepin,  Father  Louis,  364. 

Henry,  Alexander,  12. 

Henry,  William  Wirt,  obituary  sketch, 
675. 

Hermann,  Hon.  Binger,  488. 

Herriott,  William  B.,  286. 

Hibbard,  Capt.  J.  J.,  263. 

Higgins,  Rev.  W.  R.,  274. 

Hill,  Alfred  J.,  5. 

Hill,  James  J.,  30. 

History,  Early  Political,  of  Minneso- 
ta, paper  by  Hon.  Charles  D.  Gil- 
fillan, 167-180. 

History  of  Daluth,  and  of  St.  Louis 
County,  to  the  Year  1870,  paper 
by  Hon.  John  R.  Carey,  241-278; 
see  Contents. 


686 


INDEX. 


History  of  Lumbering  in  the  St.  Croix 
Valley,  with  Biographic  Sketch- 
es, paper  by  William  H.  G.  Fol- 
som,  291-324;  see  Contents. 

History  of  Pioneer  Lumbering  on  the 
Tipper  Mississippi  and  its  Tribu- 
taries, with  Biographic  Sketches, 
paper  by  Daniel  Stanchfield,  325- 
362;  see  Contents. 

History  of  Minnesota,  Recollections 
of  Persons  and  Events,  paper  by 
Bishop  Henry  B.  Whipple,  576- 
586. 

History  of  Redwood  County,  paper 
by  Hon.  O.  B.  Turrell,  2TO-9qa 

History  of  Transportation  m  Minne- 
sota, paper  by  Gen.  James  H. 
Baker,  1-34;  see  Contents. 

Hoadly,  Charles  J.,  obituary  sketch, 
675. 

Hodge,  Fred  A.,  311. 

Holcombe,  Robert  I.,  427. 

Holcombe,  Rev.  T.  J.,  186,  188. 

Holcombe,  Capt.  William,  294,  301. 

Hole-in-the-Day,  132,  133,  335,  336, 
337,  344,  393. 

Holmes,  J.  B.,  318. 

Holt,  Rev.  J.  W.,  248,  275. 

Hone,  David,  297,  298. 

Honesty  of  Ojibways,  91,  112,  129, 
332. 

Honner,  John  S.  G.,  282,  283,  287, 
288. 

Hopkins,  Daniel,  164. 

Hopkins,  Rev.  Robert,  447,  450. 

Hornby,  Captain,  43,  44,  46. 

Horses  of  Ojibways,  101;  of  Sioux, 
409,  416. 

Hospes,  Louis,  302,  303. 

How  we  won  the  San  Juan  Archi- 
pelago, paper  by  Gen.  E.  C.  Ma- 
son, 35-54. 

Hudson,  Wis.,  189,  295,  307. 

Hudson  Bay  Company,  8,  19,  36-38, 
42,  163,  366,  385. 

Huggins,  Amos  W.,  and  Alexander 
G.,  436. 

Huggins,  Mrs.  Amos  W.,  448. 

Humor,  of  Ojibways,  114. 

Humphrey,  Dr.  Philander  P.,  423, 
436  437  443. 

Hungerford,'  William  S.,  295. 

Hunting  by  Ojibways,  57,  70,  99. 

Hutchinson,  438,  449. 

Iberville,  486. 

Ice,  lake  Superior,  270. 

Illinois,  542. 

Immigration,  590. 

Indian  agents,  117,  140,  280. 

Indian  traders,  7,  177,  363,  385,  393, 

656. 
Indiana,  542. 

Indians;  see  Ojibways,  Sioux, 
Ingalls,  E.,  264. 
Insanity  among  Ojibways,  59. 


Intellectual  traits,  Ojibway,  89-92, 
108. 

Intemperance  among  Ojibways,  90, 
92,  122,  126,  130,  313. 

Interstate  park,  314. 

Intrigues,  Spanish,  for  Dismember- 
ment of  the  Union,  and  the  Louis- 
iana Purchase,  paper  by  Nathan- 
iel P.  Langford,  453-508;  see  Con- 
tents. 

Inventions,  619. 

Iowa,  Territory  of,  543,  544. 

Ireland,  Archbishop  John,  236,  237, 
594. 

Iron  ore  production,  Vermilion  and 
Mesabi  ranges,  23,  593,  599. 

Iron  Shields,  a  Sioux,  579. 

Irvine,  John  R.,  158,  164,  187,  318, 
372. 

Irving,  Washington,  quoted,  455,  504. 

Irwin,  Judge,  300. 

Issati  tribe  of  Sioux,  228-233. 

Itasca,  lake,  608. 

Itasca,  origin  of  name,  219. 

Itasca  county,  244. 

Jackson,  Henry,  144,  164,  367,  368, 
371,  372,  375. 

James,  Freeman,  318. 

Jay,  Hon.  John,  520,  522. 

Jefferson,  Ernest  R.,  258. 

Jefferson,  Robert  E.,  253,  255,  257, 
258,  269. 

Jefferson,  President  Thomas,  472,  479, 
480,  485,  493-498,  501,  502,  503, 
541. 

Jefferson  house,  Duluth,  255,  258. 

Jenks,  A.  T.,  304,  305. 

Johnson,  Parsons  K.,  154. 

Johnson,  William,  308. 

Jones,  Prof.  Frederick  S.,  on  teach- 
ing physics,  610-612. 

Jones,  Hon.  John  R.,  obituary  sketch, 
675. 

Jourdan,  Allan,  105. 

Juan  de  Fuca,  strait  of,  36,  41. 

Judd,  Lewis,  297,  298. 

Kansas,  547,  598,  671. 

Kaolin,  289. 

Kaposia,  157,  367,  374,  375,  427. 

Kasota,  439. 

Keen,  Fremont,  271. 

Kelley,  William  H.,  obituary  sketch, 

676. 
Kelly,    Hon.    Patrick    H,,    obituarv 

sketch,  676. 
Kemper,    Bishop   Jackson,    129,    182, 

205. 
Kent,  Capt.  William,  299,  317. 
Kentucky,  514. 
King,  Hon.  Rufus,  473,  474. 
Kinnikinick,  408. 
Kittson,  Norman  W.,  12,  20,  21,  30, 

33,  210,  211,  584,  589. 
Kittsondale,  384. 


INDEX. 


687 


Lac  qui  Parle,  204,  212,  280,  435,  447, 

450. 
Lace-making  by  Ojibways,  136. 
La  Crosse,  Wis.,  184,  189,  425. 

Laird,  W.  H.,  320. 

Lake  Superior  and  the  fur  trade,  7-14; 
first  sailing  vessels,  14,  263;  pres- 
ent transportation,  21;  first  wagon 
roads,  9,  245. 

Lakeland,  sawmills,  305. 

Lakes  of  Minnesota,  588. 

Lane,  John  Jay,  obituary  sketch,  677. 

Langford,  Nathaniel  Pitt,  320;  The 
Louisiana  Purchase  and  Preced- 
ing Spanish  Intrigues  for  Dis- 
memberment of  the  Union,  453- 
508  (see  Contents);  The  Library, 
Museum,  and  Portrait  Collection 
of  the  Minnesota  Historical  So- 
ciety, 569-575. 

Langton,  Bishop  Stephen,  576. 

Language,  Ojibway,  127;  Dakota, 
428,  563. 

Lapham,  Prof.  Increase  A.,  24. 

Laroche,  Leonard  H.,  146. 

Larpenteur,  August  L.,  161,  164,  165, 
Recollections  of  the  City  and  Peo- 
ple of  St.  Paul,  1843-1898,  363- 
394;  see  Contents. 

Larpenteur,  Charles,  365. 

Larpenteur,  Eugene,  365,  383. 

La  Salle,  Sieur  de,  224,  225,  486,  488, 
537,  538,  540;  letter,  235. 

Lawrence,  Lorenzo,  448,  579. 

Lawrence,  Phineas,  300. 

Leach  Calvin  F.,  301,  302  . 

Lebanon,  Ohio,  638,  639,  652. 

Le  Clercq,  235,  237,  239. 

Le  Due,  Gen.  William  G.,  243,  259, 
318,  319,  549,  583;  Organization 
and  Growth  of  the  Minnesota 
Historical  Society,  559-568. 

Le  Claire,  Michel,  376. 

Leech  lake,  Ojibways,  56,  57,  61,  79, 
80,  90,  97,  99,  101,  121,  127,  130, 
137,  138,  194. 

Legacies  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787, 
paper  by  Hon.  James  O.  Pierce, 
509-518;  see  Contents. 

Legislature,  first,  of  Minnesota,  149- 
154,  156,  179,  202,  590,  591,  626- 
627. 

Legislature,  early  members  from  Du- 
luth,  250-253. 

Le  Sueur,  Pierre  Charles,  5. 

Lewis  and  Clark  expedition,  502. 

Libbey,  Joseph,  349,  350. 

Library,  Museum,  and  Portrait  Col- 
lection of  the  Minnesota  Histor- 
ical Society,  paper  by  Nathaniel 
P.  Langiord,  569-575. 

Lightner,  William  H.,  652;  obituary 
sketch  of  Hon.  E.  F.  Drake,  637- 
653. 

Lignite,  289. 


Lincoln,  President,  141. 

Lind,  Governor  John,  Greeting  at  Fif- 
tieth Anniversary,  553. 

Little  Crow,  132,  157,  374,  392,  396, 
397,  398,  401,  402-404,  408,  426, 
434,  437,  443,  444. 

Little  Falls,  first  sawmills,  352. 

Livingston,  Hon.  Robert  R.,  474-484, 
496,  530-538. 

Log  driving,  107,  317,  333,  342,  355. 

Logging,  by  Ojibways,  107;  booms 
and  rafts,  St.  Croix  river,  317- 
323;  statistics,  321-323,  361;  old 
and  modern  methods,  346,  347. 

Long,  Major  Stephen  H„  7,  13. 

Long  Prairie,  150,  381,  656. 

Longevity  of  Ojibways,  105. 

Loomis,  David  B.,  153,  304,  316,  561. 

Loras,  Bishop,  163. 

Louisiana,  Description  of,  by  Henne- 
pin, 234-240. 

Louisiana,  District  of,  545. 

Louisiana  Purchase,  and  Preceding 
Spanish  Intrigues  for  Dismember* 
ment  of  the  Union,  paper  by  Na- 
thaniel P.  Langford,  453-508;  see 
Contents. 

Louisiana  Purchase,  and  Dual  Origin 
of  Minnesota,  paper  by  Samuel 
M.  Davis,  519-548;  see  Contents. 

Lovejoy,  James  A.,  349,  357. 

Lower  Sioux  Agency,  280,  385,  398, 
428,  434,  435,  436,  443,  444. 

Lowry,  Sylvanus  B.,  166,  381. 

Luce,  Sidney,  268;  letter,  269. 

Ludden,  Hon.  John  D.,  156,  160,  391. 

Lull,  C.  V.  P.,  380. 

Lumbering  camps,  346,  347. 

Lumbering  in  the  St.  Croix  Valley, 
History  of,  with  Biographic 
Sketches,  paper  by  William  H.  C. 
Folsom,  291-324;  see  Contents. 

Lumbering  on  the  Upper  Mississippi 
and  its  Tributaries,  with  Bio- 
graphic Sketches,  paper  by  Dan- 
iel Stanchfield,  325-362;  see  Con- 
tents. 

Lumbermen,  in  St.  Croix  valley,  296- 
317;  of  St.  Anthony  and  Minne- 
apolis, to  1860,  347-350. 

Lyons,  Lord,  49,  50. 

McBoal    street,   St.  Paul,  148. 

McCann,  Hugh,  166. 

McCaskey,  Captain,  138. 

McCloud  Brothers,  166. 

McCormack,  R.  L.,  310. 

McDonald,  D.,  370. 

McGillivray,  Alexander,  456,  462. 

McKean,  Elias,  301,  302. 

McKinley,  President,  141. 

McKinney,  T.  L.,  244. 

McKusick,  Hon.  John,  295,  301,  302, 

317  583 
McLeod,  Hon.  Martin,  154,  561,  563. 
McMasters,  Rev.  S.  Y.,  192. 


INDEX. 


MacMillan,  Prof.  Conway,  on  teach- 
ing botany,  612-614. 
McPhail,  Col.  Samuel,  281,  282,  283, 

284,  287. 
Madelia,  401. 
Madison,  President  James,  473,  476- 

482,  514,  534. 
Madrid,  Treaty  of  1795,  471. 
Mahdwagononint  (or  Med-we-gan-on- 

int),  Ojibway  chief,  75,  135. 
Maiden  feast,  of  Sioux,  218. 
Mail-carrying,     by     O  jib  ways,     104; 

early,    to   Superior     and    Duluth, 

267,  270. 
Maine,  571;  lumbering,  and  immigra- 
tion to  Minnesota,  346,  355,  356, 

358,  678. 
Mankato,  146,  208,  215,  285,  426,  439. 
Manock,  Charles,  329,  353,  354. 
Manufactures,  592. 
Maple  sugar  making  by  Ojibways,  70, 

101,  331,  332. 
Maps,   of  San  Juan  archipelago,  35; 

showing  territorial  growth  of  the 

United  States,  485. 
Marbois,  482,  486,  487,  488,  489,  527- 

540. 
Marine  Mills,  153,  155,  189,  297,  298, 

317. 
Markell,  Clinton,  255,  256. 
Marpiya-hdi-na-pe,      friendly      Sioux, 

435,  448. 
Marriage  among  Ojibways,  84. 
Marriages,   early,  in  Minnesota,   146, 

278,  287,  371. 
Marsh,    Captain   John    S.,    437,    438, 

443. 
Marshall,  Chief  Justice,  quoted,  495, 

499. 
Marshall,  Gov.  William  R.,  149,  171, 

172,  320;  obituary  sketch  of  Hon. 

Henry  M.  Rice,  654-658. 
Martin,  Gov.  Alexander,  467. 
Martin,  Judge  F.  X.,  quoted,  459. 
Martin,   Capt.  John,  349;  biographic 

sketch,  357. 
Martin,  O.  C,  281,  283,  287. 
Marvin,  Luke,  252,  269. 
Maryland,  512,  513,  524. 
Mason,  Edward  Gay,  obituary  sketch, 

677. 
Mason,  Gen.  Edwin  C,  How  we  won 

the  San  Juan  Archipelago,  35-54. 
Massachusetts,     educational     history, 

605. 
Mattocks,  Rev.  John,  583. 
Maury,  Lieut.  M.  F.,  566. 
Mayer,    Frank    Blackwell,    obituary 

sketch,  677. 
Mayo,  Charles  Edwin,  566;  obituary 

sketch,  659-664. 
Maza-ku-ta-ma-ne,  Paul,  447,  579. 
Meares,  501. 
Medicine   men,    of   Indians,   95,    106, 

334,  135,  221. 
Meeker,  Hon.  B.  B.,  159. 


Membre,  Father  Zenobe,  239. 

Mendota,  163,  190,  372,  384,  385,  599, 
656. 

Merchants'  Hotel,  St.  Paul,  146,  425. 

Merriam,  John  L.,  19,  27,  578,  582, 
642,  667. 

Merrick,  Rev.  John  A.,  183,  193. 

Merriman,  Hon.  O.  C,  350. 

Merritt,  Lewis  H.,  255. 

Mesabi  iron  range,  23,  312,  593. 

Mesh-a-ki-gi-zhick,  Ojibway  chief,  75. 

Messer,  Alanson,  28. 

Miami  Indians,  226,  227. 

Michigan,  542,  543. 

Mille  Lacs,  Ojibways,  55,  57,  72,  93, 
132,  137;  pineries,  329-333. 
Sioux,  228-233. 

Miller,  Robert  P.,  272. 

Miller's  creek,  Duluth,  272. 

Mills,  William,  423. 

Milton,  John,  quoted,  574. 

Minneapolis,  149,  339,  343,  354-362, 
577. 

Minneapolis  and  St.  Louis  railway, 
286. 

Minnehaha  falls,  327. 

Minneiska,  215. 

Minnesota,  admission  to  Union,  546- 
548. 

Minnesota,  boundaries,  145,  294,  296, 
324,  544-546. 

Minnesota,  Dual  Origin  of,  paper  by 
Samuel  M.  Davis,  519-548. 

Minnesota,  Education  during  the  past 
Fifty  Years,  paper  by  Pres.  Cyrus 
Northrop,   602-616;   see   Contents. 

Minnesota  in  the  National  Congress 
during  Fifty  Years,  paper  by  Gen. 
John  B.  Sanborn,  623-626. 

Minnesota,  Progress  during  the  Half 
Century,  paper  by  Hon.  Charles 
E.  Flandrau,  587-596. 

Minnesota  Historical  Society,  202; 
newspaper  department,  567,  571, 
595,  633-635. 

Minnesota  Historical  Society,  Cele- 
bration of  its  Fiftieth  Anniver- 
sary, 549-636;  see  Contents. 

Minnesota  Historical  Society,  its  Or- 
ganization and  Growth,  paper  by 
Gen.  William  G.  Le  Due,  559-568; 
its  Library,  Museum  and  Portrait 
Collection,  paper  by  Nathaniel  P. 
Langford,  569-575;  its  Work 
through  Fifty  Years  in  preserv- 
ing Minnesota  History  and  its 
Duty  to  the  Future,  paper  by  Col. 
William  P.  Clough,  627-636. 
Miro,  governor  of  Louisiana,  460-464, 

468,  469,  470. 
Missionary  Work  among  the  Sioux, 
paper  by  Rev.  Moses  N.  Adams, 
431-452;  see  Contents. 
Missions,  Early,  of  Park  Place,  St. 
Paul,  paper  by  Bishop  M.  N,  Gil- 
bert, 181-196. 


INDEX. 


689 


Missions,  Ojibway,  129-142,  193,  194, 

204,  246-248,  292. 
Missions,  Sioux,  132,  153,  204,  446. 
Mississippi      river,      quotation     from 
George  Bancroft,  453;  from  peti- 
tion to  congress,  478. 
Mississippi     river,     Upper,     and     its 
Tributaries,    History   of   Pioneer 
Lumbering,        with       Biographic 
Sketches,  paper  by  Daniel  Stanch- 
field,  325-362;  see  Contents. 
Missouri,    Territory    and    State,    543X 
545.  « 

Mitchell,  Alexander  M.,  159. 
Mix,  Charles  H.,  200. 
Moccasins,  67,  101,  177,  205,  270,  405. 
Monfort,  Captain,  390. 
Monfort,   Delos  A.,   obituary  sketch, 

677. 
Monroe,    President   James,   480,   488, 

496,  529-537,  541. 
Monticello,  first  sawmills,  352. 
Mooer,  Hazen  P.,  300,  427. 
Moose,  57,  99,  585,  589. 
Morgan,  Col.  George,  461. 
Morrison,  Allan,  336,  337,  339,  584. 
Morrison,    Hon.    Dorilus,    349;    bio- 
graphic sketch,  358. 
Mortality,  rate  of,  among  Ojibways, 

97,  125,  142. 
Mortimer,  Sergeant  Richard  W.,  367, 

371,  382. 
Morton,  428. 
Mosquitoes,  330,  333. 
Moss,  Hon.  Henry  L.,  200,  549,  551. 
561,   562,   583;  Biographic   Notes 
of  Old  Settlers,  143-162;  see  Con- 
tents. 
Mound  Builders,  3,  560,  570,  573. 
Mower,  John  E.,  316. 
Mower,  Martin,  316. 
Munger,  R.  S.,  262. 
Murders  by  Ojibways,  92. 
Murray,  Hon.  Wiliiam  P.,  160,  391. 
Museum,  etc.,  of  the  Minnesota  His- 
torical Society,  paper  by  Nathan- 
iel P.  Langford,  569-575. 
Myrick,  Andrew,  444. 
Myrick,   Nathan,  166,  280,  381,  391, 
444. 

Nabonaskong,  Ojibway  warrior,  133. 
Names,     Ojibway,     111;     geographic, 

212-215,  219;  Sioux,  215-218,  221. 
Napoleon,    472,    478,    482,    484,    489, 

527-540,  621,  660. 
Narration  of  a  Friendly  Sioux,  paper 

by    Snana    (Mrs.    Maggie   Brass), 

427-430. 
Nashotah,  Wis.,  183,  186,  192,  195. 
Nationality  implied  in  the  Ordinance 

of  1787,  509-516. 
Navarro,  Martin,  quoted,  457,  464. 
Nebraska,  547,  598. 
Neill,  Rev.  Edward  D.,  187,  240,  556, 

561,  564,  583. 


Nelson,  Hon.  Knute,  622,  623. 
Nelson,  Hon.  R.  R.,  192,  251,  581. 
Nelson,  Socrates,  304,  317. 
Nettleton,   George  E.,  248,  249,  250, 

251   253. 
Nettleton,  William,  250,  251,  253,  255, 

272. 
Nevers  dam,  316. 
New  Orleans,  La.,  457,  459,  460,  470- 

472,  477,  478,  480,  481,  497,  530. 
Newell,  Francis  S.,  662. 
Newspaper     department,     Minnesota 
Historical  Society,  567,  571,  595, 
633-635. 
Newspaper,  first,  in  Duluth,  278;  in 
Redwood  county,  286;  in  St.  Paul, 
380,  571,  594. 
Newton,  Capt,  Leroy,  286. 
New  Ulm,  208,  285,  286,  401,  408,  438, 

439. 
New  Year's  day,  celebrations,  199. 
New  York  and  the  ordinance  of  1787, 

513,  516,  524. 
Nindibewinini,  an  Ojibway,  105. 
Noah,  Col.  J.  J.,  392. 
Nobles,  Milton  V.,  299. 
Nobles,  Col.  William  H.,  299. 
Normal  schools,  609. 
Norris,  James  S.,  152. 
North,  John  W.,  174,  349. 
North  Carolina  and  Frankland,  465- 

468. 
Northern    Pacific    railroad,    28,    267, 

353,  358,  593. 
Northrop,  Pres.  Cyrus,  Education  in 
the  United  States  and  in  Minne- 
sota during  the  past  Fifty  Years, 
602-616;  see  Contents. 
Northup,  Anson,  287,  299,  341,  349, 

352. 
Northwest  Fur  Company,  8,  13,  14, 

15,  584. 
Northwest    Territory    and    Ordinance 
of  1787,  509-518,  519;  Dual  Origin 
of  Minnesota,  519-548. 

Oakes,  Charles  H.,  13,  151,  199,  341, 
348,  584,  593. 

Obituaries,  637-680;  Elias  Franklin 
Drake,  637-653;  Henry  Mower 
Rice,  654-658;  Charles  Edwin 
Mayo,  659-664;  Russell  Blakeley, 
665-670;  other  deceased  members 
of  this  society,  18£  8-1901,  671-680. 

Officer,  Harvey,  188. 

Ohio,  542,  560,  644-650. 

Ojibways  in  Minnesota,  paper  by 
Rev.  Joseph  A.  Gilfillan,  55-128 
(see  Contents);  Civilization  and 
Christianization  of  the,  paper  by 
Bishop  Henry  B.  Whipple,  129- 
142. 

Old  Bets,  370,  373,  374. 

Old  Settlers,  Biographic  Notes  of, 
paper  by  Hon.  Henry  L.  Moss, 
143-162;  see  Contents. 


690 


INDEX. 


Old  Settlers'  Association  of  Minne- 
sota, 143-162,  669. 

Oliphant,  Laurence,  184. 

Olmsted,  David,  150,  172,  561,  563. 

Oneota,  255,  256,  259,  262,  267,  271, 
272,  273,  275. 

Oratory,  Ojibway,  74. 

Ord,  William,  255. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  Some  Legacies  of 
the,  paper  by  Hon.  James  O. 
Pierce,  509-518;  see  Contents. 

Organization  and  Growth  of  the  Min- 
nesota Historical  Society,  paper 
by  Gen.  William  G.  Le  Due,  559- 
568. 

Origin,  Dual,  of  Minnesota,  paper  by 
Samuel  M.  Davis,  519-548;  see 
Contents. 

Orleans,  Territory  of,  543. 

Osceola,  Wis.,  299. 

Other  Day,  John,  411,  449,  579. 

Ouasicoude,  Sioux  chief,  230,  231,  232. 

Outbreak,  Sioux,  in  the  Year  1862, 
with  Notes  of  Missionary  Work 
among  the  Sioux,  paper  by  Rev. 
Moses  N.  Adams,  431-452;  see 
Contents. 

Pacific  Fur  company,  503. 
Palmer,  Judge  E.  C.,  203. 
Palmyra,    first    steamer    on    the    St. 

Croix,  293,  294. 
Park,  National,  proposed  in  northern 

Minnesota,  585,  590. 
Park  Place,  St.  Paul,  Early  Missions 

of,   paper  by  Bishop  M.   N.   Gil- 
bert, 181-196. 
Parker,  Charles  H.,  593. 
Parkman,  Francis,  quoted,  224,  23S, 

240. 
Farrant,  Pierre,  144,  163,  164. 
Patch,  Luther,  340. 
Paterson,  Rev.  Andrew  B.,  200,  206. 
Peake,  Rev.  E.  Steele,  130,  132. 
Peet,  Rev.  James,  255,  273. 
Pembina,  N.  D.,  185. 
Pembina  band  of  Ojibways,  55,   56, 

69. 
Pemican,  385. 
Pennsylvania,  556,  674. 
Perley,  John  W.,  309. 
Perry,  Abraham,  144,  367. 
Perry,  Amos,  obituary  sketch,  678. 
Personal  appearance  of  Ojibways,  57- 

59. 
Peshick,  Ojibway  chief,  293. 
Peyton,  H.  M.,  264. 
Pfaender,  Col.  William,  282. 
Phalen,  Edward,  367,  377,  391. 
Phelps,  Hon.  John  S.,  546. 
Philadelphia  Quakers,  142. 
Philippine  Islands,  492,  508,  588,  622. 
Phillips,  Hon.  William  D.,  380. 
Physics,     progress     of     science     and 

teaching,  610-612. 


Pickett,  Capt.  George  E.,  39-47. 

Piegan  Indians,  76. 

Pierce,  Hon.  James  Oscar,  Some  Leg- 
acies of  the  Ordinance  of  1787, 
509-518;  see  Contents. 

Pierre,  South  Dakota,  668. 

Pierrepont,  schooner  on  lake  Superior, 
264. 

Pike,  Gen.  Z.  M.,  6,  106. 

Pillager  band  of  Ojibways,  194. 

Pillsbury,  Hon.  Charles  A.,  360. 

Pillsbury,  Hon.  George  A.,  360. 

Pillsbury,  Hon.  John  S.,  349,  583, 
625;  biographic  sketch,  with  por- 
trait, 359;  opening  address  at  the 
Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Min- 
nesota Historical  Society,  597-601. 

Pilots  of  Mississippi  steamers,  388, 

Pine  county,  sawmills,  310. 

Pine  timber  in  Minnesota,  324,  590. 

Pineries,  Rum  river,  329-333. 

Pioneers  of  Minnesota,  390-394,  568, 
575,  598. 

Plumer,  Hon.  William,  quoted,  493. 

Point  Douglas,  sawmills,  305,  577. 

Pokegama  lake,  of  Snake  river,  247, 
292. 

Politeness  of  Ojibways,  93. 

Political  History  of  Minnesota,  Early, 
paper  by  Hon.  Charles  D.  Gilfil- 
lan,  167-180. 

Politics,  territorial,  209-212. 

Polk,  President  James  K.,  506. 

Pommede  Terre,  396. 

Pomroy,  Jesse  H.,  383. 

Pond,  Revs.  Gideon  H.  and  Samuel, 
153,  450. 

Portland,  Minn.,  255,  256,  269,  272. 

Portrait  Collection,  etc.,  of  the  Min- 
nesota Historical  Society,  paper 
by  Nathaniel  P.  Langford,  569- 
575 

Post,  Capt.  Ed.,  281. 

Post  offices,  first  in  Minnesota,  145; 
first  in  St.  Louis  county,  267. 

Potts,  Dr.  T.  R.,  561. 

Prairie  du  Chien,  161,  293,  378,  391, 
656,  667. 

Pratt,  Major,  Indian  agent,  119. 

Presbyterian  missions  to  Sioux,  451. 

Prescott,  Philander,  298,  306,  327, 
436,  584. 

Prescott,  Wis.,  299,  306. 

Presley,  Bartlett,  166,  371. 

Prince,  John  S.,  318,  341,  348. 

Princeton,  first  sawmills,  352. 

Progress  of  Minnesota  during  the 
Half  Century,  paper  by  Hon. 
Charles  E.  Flandrau,  587-596. 

Progress  of  the  United  States  during 
the  Half  Century,  paper  by  Hon. 
Cushman  K.  Davis,  617-622. 

Provencalle,  Louis,  7. 

Puget  Sound,  international  boundary, 
35-54. 


INDEX. 


691 


Pugh,  Rev.  James,  273. 

Purchase  of  Louisiana,  paper  by  Na- 
thaniel P.  Langford,  453-508;  see 
Contents. 

Purinton,  James,  307. 

Putnam,  Prof.  P.  W.,  3. 

Quakers  of  Philadelphia,  142. 
Quarrying,  Redwood  county,  289. 
Quincy,  Hon.  Josiah,  quoted,  492. 

Rabbit  band  of  O  jib  ways,  126. 
Race,  S.  J.,  285. 

Radisson,  Peter  Esprit,  4,  241,  669. 
Rafts  of  logs,  317,  343,  355;  of  sawn 

lumber,  317,  326. 
Railroad  companies  in  Minnesota,  25- 
32,    286,    593,    642;    "five    million 
loan,"  25,  27,  579,  651,  652. 

Railroad  transportation,  23-32,  266, 
286,  593,  600. 

Rainfall,  decrease,  297. 

Rakowski,  John  G.,  271. 

Ramsey,  Hon.  Alexander,  162,  167, 
168,  169,  171,  176,  180,  199,  315, 
391,  392,  551,  559,  561,  563,  583, 
597,  601,  658;  Response  at  Fifti- 
eth Anniversary,  555. 

Randall,  William  H.,  Jr.,  379. 

Ravoux,  Father  Augustin,  583. 

Ray,  James  D.,  255,  259. 

Raymond,  B.  W.,  273. 

Read's  Landing,  sawmill,  320. 

Recollections  of  the  City  and  People 
of  St.  Paul,  1843-1898,  paper  by 
August  L.  Larpenteur,  363-394; 
see  Contents. 

Recollections  of  Persons  and  Events 
in  the  History  of  Minnesota,  pa- 
per by  Bishop  Henry  B.  Whipple, 
576-586. 

Red  lake,  Ojibways,  59,  60,  61,  75, 
76-78,  82,  99,  101,  102,  119,  136, 
176. 

Red  Owl,  Sioux  orator,  131. 

Red  river  of  the  North,  steamboats, 
19;  ox  cart  trade,  20,  585,  587;  558. 

Red  Wing  sawmills,  319. 

Redwood  County,  Early  Settlement 
and  History  of,  paper  by  Hon.  O. 
B.  Turrell,  279-290. 

Redwood  Falls,  280,  283,  284,  286. 

Redwood  river,  408,  410,  444. 

Reese,  Edward,  94. 

Reindeer,  57,  100,  589. 

Relf,  Richard,  253. 

Reminiscences  of  Minnesota  during 
the  Territorial  Period,  paper  by 
Hon.  Charles  E.  Flandrau,  197- 
222;  see  Contents. 

Religious  liberty,  Ordinance  of  1787, 
518. 

Renfro,  W.,  375-378. 

Renville,  Antoine,  447. 

Renville,  Mrs.  Antoine,  449. 


Renville,  Rev.  John  B.,  and  wife,  449. 

Renville,  Joseph,  7. 

Republican    party,    171-180,    209-211, 

669. 
Rhawn,  William  H.,  165. 
Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  634. 
Rice,  Hon.  Edmund,  26,  33,  200,  582, 

583,  642. 
Rice,  Hon.  Henry  M.,  13,  15,  150, 166, 

169,  170,  172,  180,  200,  210,  244, 

245,  335,  338,  546,  583,  589,  625; 

obituary  sketch,  654-658. 
Rice,  Orrin  W.,  253,  255,  261. 
Richardson,  Eliphalet,  441. 
Riggs,    Rev.    Stephen    R.,    428,    446, 

447,  450,  563. 
Riverside,  Redwood  county,  285. 
Robert,   Capt.   Louis,    164,   221,   280, 

283,  369,  378,  382,  386. 
Robertson,  Andrew,  427. 
Robertson,  Col.  D.  A.,  188,  200,  251, 

565,  566,  583. 
Robideau,  313. 
Robideau,  Mrs.,  448. 
Rolette,  Joseph,  155,  156,  198,  210. 
Roman   Catholic   missions,   187,   204, 

212. 
Rondo,  Joseph,  367. 
Rosario  strait,  37,  40,  50,  51. 
Ross,  Hon.  James,  481. 
Ross,  Jerry,  315. 
Rum   river,   228,   231,    233;   pineries, 

329-333,  341-343,  370,  375. 
Russell,  Jeremiah,  151. 
Russell,  Lord  John,  49. 
Russell,  Roswell  P.,  340,  348,  655. 
Russia,  treaty  with,  505. 

Sailing  vessels,  lake  Superior,  14,  263- 
266. 

Saint  Anthony,  149,  171,  189,  192, 
212,  327,  339,  355,  358. 

Saint  Anthony,  falls  of,  232,  327. 

Saint  Cloud,  first  sawmills,  352. 

Saint  Croix  county,  299-301. 

Saint  Croix  Falls,  Wis.,  294,  295,  328, 
378. 

Saint  Croix  river,  292,  293,  317. 

Saint  Croix  Valley,  History  of  Lum- 
bering, with  Biographic  Sketches, 
paper  by  William  H.  C.  Folsom, 
291-324. 

Saint  Louis,  Mo.,  366,  383,  389. 

Saint  Louis  County,  History  of,  and 
of  Duluth,  to  the  Year  1870,  pa- 
per by  Hon.  John  R.  Carey,  241- 
278;  see  Contents. 

Saint  Mary's  Falls  Ship  Canal,  15,  21, 
266,  600,  655. 

Saint  Paul,  144,  145,  147,  158;  first 
schools,  159;  first  surveys,  161, 
163,  170,  184,  378;  Reminiscences 
by  Hon.  C.  E.  Flandrau,  197-209; 
212;  sawmills,  318,  341;  367,  425, 
556,  643,  662,  663,  669,  671-680. 


692 


INDEX. 


Saint  Paul,  Early  Missions  of  Park 
Place,  paper  by  Bishop  M.  N. 
Gilbert,  181-196. 

Saint  Paul,  Early  Trade  and  Traders 
in,  paper  by  Charles  D.  Elfelt, 
163-166. 

Saint  Paul,  Recollections  of  the  City 
and  People,  1843-1898,  paper  by 
August  L.  Larpenteur,  363-394; 
see  Contents. 

Saint  Paul  and  Duluth  railroad  com- 
pany, 28,  165,  267. 

Saint  Paul  and  Pacific  railroad  com- 
pany 26,  29. 

Saint  Paul  and  Sioux  City  railroad 
company,  27,  642. 

Saint  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Manito- 
ba railway,  30. 

Saint  Peter,  208,  423-425,  438,  439, 
.  440. 

Salaries,  State  of  Franklin,  467. 

Salutations  of  Ojibways,  108. 

San  Juan  Archipelago,  How  we  won 
the,  paper  by  Gen.  E.  C.  Mason, 
35-54. 

San  Juan  island,  37-53. 

Sanborn,  Gen.  John  B.,  140,  622;  Min- 
nesota in  the  National  Congress 
during  Fifty  Years,  623-626. 

Sandy  lake,  99,  258. 

Santee  Agency,  Nebraska,  428. 

Sauk  Center,  585. 

Sauk  Rapids,  151,  152,  189,  557. 

Sault  Ste.  Marie  ship  canal,  15,  21, 
266,  600,  655. 

Sawmills,  Duluth,  262,  312;  Redwood 
Falls,  287;  St.  Croix  valley,  301- 
323. 

Scharf,  John  Thomas,  obituary 
sketch,  678. 

Schmidt,  William,  430. 

Schoolcraft,  Henry  R.,  14,  33,  220, 
247,  563. 

Schools,  common,  599,  602,  606-608. 

Schools,  first  in  Duluth,  273,  274;  in 
Redwood  county,  284;  in  St.  Croix 
valley,  292. 

Schools,  O  jib  way,  119;  of  all  the  In- 
dians, 142. 

Schurz,  Hon.  Carl,  173,  174. 

Schwandt,  Mary,  Rescue  by  Snana,  a 
friendly  Sioux,  427-430. 

Sciences,  instruction  in,  610-614. 

Scott,  Gen.  Winfield,  35,  46,  47. 

Sedella,  Father  de,  463. 

Selby,  J.  W.,  25. 

Semi-Centennial  Celebration,  Minne- 
sota Historical  Society,  549-636; 
see  Contents. 

Sermons,  first,  in  Duluth,  etc.,  273. 

Setzer,  Henry  N.,  155. 

Sevier,  Gov,  John,  466-468. 

Seymour,  Hon.  Horatio,  quoted,  573. 

Shabaskong,  Ojibway  chief,  137. 


Shadayence,  Ojibway  medicine  man, 

95,  106,  134,  135. 
Shakopee,   Sioux  medicine  man,  222, 

367,  430. 
Shea,   John   Gilmary,   235,   236,   237, 

238 
Sheehan,  CoL  T.  J.,  118. 
Sherman,  Major  Thomas  W.,  566. 
Sherman,  Gen.  W.  T.,  138,  140. 
Sherwood,  Capt.  George,  265. 
Shields,  Gen.  James,  176. 
Sibley,  Gen.  Henry  H.,  7,  136,  161, 

165,  166,  167,  169,  176,  ISO,  188, 

200,  204,  282,  302,  378,  379,  392, 

400,  402,  404,  418,  420,  430,  442, 

579,  582,  583,  584,  589,  599. 
Simpson,  J.  W.,  164,  369,  372. 
Simpson,  James,  248. 
Simpson,  Hon.  Jerry,  265. 
Simpson,  Hon.  Thomas,  320. 
Sioux,   Captivity  among  the,  August 

18  to  September  26,  1862,  paper 

by   Mrs.   N.    D.    White,    395-426; 

see  Contents. 
Sioux,  friendly,  in  War  of  1862,  427- 

430,  446-449. 
Sioux,  Hennepin  and  the,  226-233. 
Sioux,  Missionary  Work  among  the, 

paper  by  Rev.  Moses  N.  Adams, 

431-452;  see  Contents. 
Sioux,  Narration  of  a  Friendly,  paper 

by    Snana    (Mrs.    Maggie   Brass), 

427-430. 
Sioux  missions,  132. 
Sioux  names,  215-218. 
Sioux    Outbreak    in    the    Year    1862, 

with   Notes   of  Missionary   Work 

among  the  Sioux,  paper  by  Rev. 

Moses    N.    Adams,    431-452;    see 

Contents. 
Sioux  reservation,  280,  427. 
Sioux,  traffic  of  Ojibways  with,  102, 

117. 
Sioux   War,   1862-64,   132,   141,    148, 

204,  208,  282,  385,  395-426,  429, 

431-452,  579. 
Sisseton  tribe  of  Sioux,  416,  432. 
Sloan,  Levi,  166. 
Sloan,  Thomas,  375,  376. 
Smith,  Ansel,  315. 
Smith,    Hon.    Charles    K.,    157,    159, 

559-564,  567. 
Smith,  Daniel  F.,  313. 
Smith,  Rev.  E.  P.,  Indian  agent,  60, 

102,  117,  139. 
Smith,  Rev.  Fred,  Ojibway,  135. 
Smith,  Hon.  James,  Jr.,  28  . 
Smith,  Hon.  John  A.,  178. 
Smith,  Truman  M.,  593. 
Smith,  Gen.  W.  R.,  293. 
Snake  river,  293. 

Snana   (Mrs.   Maggie  Brass),   Narra- 
tion of  a  Friendly  Sioux,  427-430. 
Some  Legacies   of  the  Ordinance  of 

1787,    paper   by    Hon.   James    O. 

Pierce,  509-518;  see  Contents. 


INDEX. 


693 


"Soo"  ship  canal,  lake  Superior,   15, 

21-23,  266,  600,  655. 
Spanish  Inquisition,  463. 
Spanish    Intrigues    for    Dismember- 
ment of  the  Union,  and  the  Louis- 
iana Purchase,  paper  by  Nathan- 
iel P.  Langford,  453-508;  see  Con- 
tents. 
Spining,  Mathias,  637,  638. 
Stage  lines  in  Minnesota,  18,  268. 
Stambaugh,  Samuel  C,  145. 
Stanchfield,    Daniel,    325,    341,    350; 
History  of  Pioneer  Lumbering  on 
the    Upper    Mississippi    and    its 
Tributaries,       with       Biographic 
Sketches,  325-362;  see  Contents. 
Stanchfield,  Samuel,  342,  348. 
Stanton,  Hon.  Edwin  M.,  141. 
Staples,    Isaac,    296,   302,    303,    317; 

obituary  sketch,  678. 
Starvation,  of  Ojibways,  72,  97,  138. 
Statistics,  of  lumbering,  321-323. 
Steamboating  on  the  Mississippi  and 
Minnesota    rivers,    16,    340,    379, 
386-390,  665,  666;  on  the  Red  riv- 
er of  the  North,  19;  on  lake  Su- 
perior, 21,  266;  on  the  St.  Croix 
river,  294,  297,  298. 
Steele,    Franklin,    200,    561;    on    St. 
Croix  river,  293 ;  upper  Mississippi 
lumbering,  327,  333-341;  biograph- 
ic sketch,  354. 
Stillwater,    145,    150,    151,    171,    189, 
192,  196,  209,  300,  301-305,  340, 
375. 
Stimpson,  Charles  W.,  342,  348. 
Stoddard,  Gen.  Amos,  quoted,  540. 
Stone,     George     C,     278;     obituary 

sketch,  679. 
Story,  Judge  Joseph,  496. 
Stowe,  Hon.  Lewis,  Indian  agent,  118. 
Stryker,    Gen.    William    S.,    obituary 

sketch,  679. 
Stuntz,  George  R.,  259. 
Suez  canal,  1,  22,  600. 
Sunday  School,  first  in  St.  Paul,  154, 

158. 
Superior  county,  245,  253. 
Superior,    Wis.,    245,    246,    249,    250, 

268,  599. 
Sweet,    Hon.    George    W.,    obituary 

sketch,  679. 
Sweetser,  Madison,  210. 
Sympathy,  of  Ojibways,  112. 

Taku  Wakan,  450,  451. 

Talleyrand,  475,  477,  482,  487,   530, 

531,  538. 
Taney,  Chief  Justice,  518. 
Taopi,  a  Sioux,  375,  579. 
Taylor,  Horace  A,,  307. 
Taylor's  Falls,  293,  314. 
Techa,  a  Sioux,  370,  375. 
'     Tepees  of  Sioux,  403,  405,  411,  417, 

419. 


Territorial   Period,   Reminiscences   of 
Minnesota   during  the,    paper   by 
Hon.   Charles   E.   Flandrau,   197- 
222;  see  Contents. 
Texas  included  in  the  Louisiana  pur- 
chase, 485-490. 
Thompson,  Horace,  642. 
Thompson,  J.  E.,  138,  582,  642. 
Thompson,     John    B.,     of    Redwood 

county,  281,  282,  287. 
Thompson,  Hon.  John  B.,  U.  S.  sen- 
ator from  Kentucky,  quoted,  547. 
Tilden,  Henry  L.,  159. 
Tippery,  Jacob,  282,  283. 
Titcomb,  Charles  G.,  596,  636. 
Tobacco,  use  by  Ojibways,  97. 
Too-kon-we-chasta,  a  Sioux,  404. 
Torinus,  Louis,  304. 
Tozer,  David,  304,  305. 
Tracy,    Henry    W.    and    Charles    H., 

166. 
Tracy,  Samuel,  357. 
Tracy,  Hon.  Uriah,  quoted,  493. 
Trade  and  Traders  in  St.  Paul,  Early, 
paper  by  Charles  D.  Elfelt,  163- 
166. 
Transportation  in  Minnesota,  History 
of,  paper  by  Gen.  James  H.  Baker, 
1-34   (see   Contents);   remarks   by 
Hon.  C.  E.  Flandrau,  593;  work 
of  Capt.  Russell  Blakeley,  665-670. 
Trapping  by  Ojibways,  70,  71. 
Trask,  Sylvanus,  151. 
Traverse    des    Sioux,    185,    190,    204, 

212,  384,  431. 
Treatment  of  the  aged,  by  Ojibways, 

96. 
Treaties    with    Ojibways,    120,    244, 
292,  557,  654;  with  Sioux,  168, 169, 
292,  367,  384,  421,  431,  557,  654, 
656. 
Treaty  of  Madrid,  1795,  471. 
Treaty  of  Paris,  1783,  522. 
Treaty  of  Paris,   purchasing  Louisi- 
ana, 1803,  483-496. 
Treaty  of  St.  Ildephonso,  472, 501, 536. 
Treaty  of  Washington,  June  15,  1846, 

36;  May  8,  1871,  50. 
Trempealeau,  212,  214,  296. 
Turner,  J.  Warren,  636. 
Turrell,  Hon.  Orlando  B.,  The  Early 
Settlement  and   History   of  Red- 
wood County,  279-290. 
Tuttle,  Calvin  A.,  348. 
Tyler,  President  John,  505. 
Tyson,  Nat.,  210,  211. 

United  States,  Education  during  the 
past  Fifty  Years,  paper  by  Pres. 
Cyrus  Northrop,  602-616  (see  Con- 
tents); Progress  during  the  Half 
Century,  paper  by  Hon.  Cushman 
K.  Davis,  617-622. 

Universities  of  the  United  States,  615. 

University  of  Minnesota,  209,  361, 
586,  594,  599,  610-614,  632. 


694 


INDEX. 


Upham,  Henry  P.,  318. 

Upham,  Warren,  549,  622;  biographic 

sketch  of  Capt.  Russell  Blakeley, 

665-670. 
Upper  Sioux  Agency,  280,  385,  396, 

411.       , 
Utica,  N.  Y.,  206. 

Valuation  of  Minnesota,  600. 
Vancouver,  George,  501. 
Vancouver  island,  37,  39,  41,  51. 
Van  Ingen,  Rev.  John  V.,  192,  206, 

208. 
Van  Vorhes,  A.,  562. 
Vermilion   iron   range,   23,   273,   312, 

593. 
Vermont,  571,  577,  655. 
Verplanck,  J.  A.,  244. 
Victoria,  Queen,  142. 
Virginia  and  the  Ordinance  of  1787, 

512-516,  541. 
Visiting,  among  Ojibways,  63,  82, 108. 
Voyageurs,  11,  363,  385. 

Wabasha,  Sioux  chief,  132,  221,  367. 

Wacouta,  sawmill,  319. 

Wagon  roads,  9,  18,  245,  268,  394. 

Wakan-ma-ne  and  wife,  friendly 
Sioux,  448. 

Wakefield,  Hon.  James  B.,  562. 

Walker,  Orange,  298,  317. 

Walking,  by  Ojibways,  103. 

Warren,  John  Esaias,  200,  201. 

Washburn,  Hon.  William  D.,  350. 

Washington,  George,  foresight,  455; 
quoted,  459;  chair  and  letter,  573. 

Watab,  166,  352,  393. 

Watrous,  John  S.,  250,  253. 

Webster,  Hon.  Daniel,  quoted,  507, 
596. 

Webster- Ashburton  treaty,  523,  539. 

Welles,  Henry  T.,  188,  349,  352,  583. 

Wendjimadub,  O  jib  way  orator,  74. 

West  Superior,  Wis.,  245,  246,  249, 
268,  599. 

Wheat  raising  and  exportation,  22,  32, 
591,  599,  601. 

Wheeler,  H.  W.,  253,  262,  263,  264. 

Wheelock,  Hon.  Joseph  A.,  447. 

Whig  party,  168-171,  669. 

Whipple,  Bishop  Henry  B.,  120,  188, 
206,  207,  594,  623,  636;  Civiliza- 
tion and  Christianization  of  the 
Ojibways  in  Minnesota,  129-142; 
Recollections  of  Persons  and 
Events  in  the  History  of  Minne- 
sota, 576-586. 

White,  Hon.  James,  quoted,  490. 

White,  Mrs.  N.  D.,  Captivity  among 
the  Sioux,  August  18  to  Septem- 
ber 26,  1862,  395-426;  see  Con* 
tents. 

White  Earth  reservation,  56,  57,  60, 
99,  101,  123,  124,  133. 


Wigwam  life  of  Ojibways,  62-70,  78, 

79. 
Wilcoxson,   Rev.   Timothy,   183,   189, 

192,193,205. 
Wild  rice,  123,  331,  332,  589. 
Wilder,  Hon.  Eli  T.,  188. 
Wilkin,  Alexander,  159. 
Wilkinson,  Gen.  James,  460-462,  464, 

465,  468,  469,  471,  472. 
Wilkinson,  Hon.  Morton  S.,  150,  301, 

302,  392,  562,  625. 
William,  Emperor  of  Germany,  arbi- 
trator of  San  Juan  boundary,  50- 

52. 
Williams,  John  Fletcher,  566,  669. 
Williams,  Julia  A.,  284. 
Williamson,  Rev.  T.  S.,  157,  427-429, 

447,  448,  450,  579,  583. 
Willis,    Charles   L.,   obituary   sketch, 

680. 
Willow  river,  Wis.,  sawmills,  308. 
Wilson,    Hon.    Henry,    quoted,    625, 

657. 
Wilson,  Rev.  Joseph  G.,  254,  273. 
Windom,  Hon.  William,  601. 
Winnebago    Indians,    381,    405,    434, 

656. 
Winmbigoshish    lake,    Ojibways,    55, 

80,  90,  204. 
Winona,  sawmills,  320,  577. 
Winona  and  St.  Peter  railway,  286. 
Winsor,  Justin,  cited,  239. 
Winters,  decreased  cold,  270,  394. 
Winthrop,  Robert  C,  quoted,  584. 
Winyan,  friendly  Sioux,  448. 
Wisconsin    Territory,    167,    542,    543, 

544,  598. 
Wise,  John  C,  obituary  sketch,  680. 
Witherspoon,  John,  quoted,  514. 
Wolves,  345. 
Women,  Ojibway,  58,  62-71,  77-88,  95, 

96,  109,  110,  112,  136. 
Women  pioneers  of  Minnesota,  372, 

619. 
Wood  Lake,  battle,  418,  446,  451. 
Woods,  Lake  of  the,  522,  523. 
Worden,  Park,  288. 
Work    of    the    Minnesota    Historical 

Society   through    Fifty    Years    in 

preserving  Minnesota  History,  and 

its  Duty  to  the  Future,  paper  by 

Col.  William  P.  Clough,  627-636. 
Worth,  Mrs,  Edward,  306. 
Wright,  Isaac  P.,  373. 

Xenia,  Ohio,  640,  641,  652. 

Yale,  Mrs.  Jane  Huntington,  596. 
Yellow  Medicine,  280,  411,  432,  434, 
436,  438,  449,  585. 

Zoe,  friendly  Sioux,  448. 
Zumbro  river,  213. 
Zumbrota,  213. 


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